


Star Wars: Apocalypse

by castielofasgard



Series: Apocalypse [1]
Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: A surprising amount of humor for a zombie apocalypse, Apocalypse, Blood and Gore, Everyone's a little shit at some point, Gen, Kylo Ren is Extra AF, Loss of Limbs, M/M, Necromancy, Nobody has any chill, Teaming up with the enemy, Temporary Character Death, Zombies, as usual it's star wars so somebody's losing an arm its just the M.O.
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-20
Updated: 2016-11-19
Packaged: 2018-08-09 20:58:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 17
Words: 30,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7817002
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/castielofasgard/pseuds/castielofasgard
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A Resistance ship and a First Order ship crash land on an abandoned planet. The survivors must form an unlikely alliance in order to escape the planet, or risk joining the zombie horde.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Only Survivors

**Author's Note:**

> This project has been in the works for months, honestly. I'm trying to stay ahead with it though so I don't slack off and leave it semi abandoned for weeks like I usually do, so I'm going to be posting a chapter a week regardless of how much I've written beyond that point. So keep an eye out for a new chapter every weekend! Hopefully. No promises of course.
> 
> Also, I drew some corresponding art ages ago that was sort of the catalyst for this whole thing, which you can find on my art blog http://thefanartofdeduction.tumblr.com/ (fair warning, a couple of the pics are a little spoilery so if you don't wanna be spoiled, I'd wait until the fic is done lol)
> 
> Anyway, hope you enjoy this crazy brainfuck of a fic! ;)

This mission really couldn’t have gone farther south. It was a simple trade mission, just getting weapons and barely useful intelligence from a sympathetic Outer Rim planet. They had a small ship and a smaller crew, just Poe, Finn, Rey, and three other Resistance soldiers. But then they came across a First Order shuttle. Also small, but trailing a guard of four TIE fighters that naturally opened fire at the first sight of a Resistance ship. They had no guns so all they could do was dodge the blasts. 

It was a damn good thing they had Poe flying with Rey co-piloting or they’d be even more fucked than they already were. They’d managed to get two TIEs to crash into each other, but the other two were much harder to trick. 

“Dameron, this is no use, we’ve just gotta get far enough away to make it to lightspeed,” one of the crew said, poking his head into the cockpit.

“Oh really? That’s all we gotta do, Smit?” said Poe irritably. “Do _you_ wanna fly this thing?”

“…No…”

“Then sit your ass down and hold on.”

Smit retreated into the cabin. 

“You know, he’s got a point,” said Rey. “We don’t stand a chance against those TIEs, and even if we do destroy them, what are we going to do about the shuttle?”

“That shuttle’s too small to have cannons,” said Finn. 

“Exactly,” Poe said. “So we get the TIEs off our tail then get the hell out.”

“Okay. Let’s do this then,” said Rey.

They dodged another two blasts, but a third one came unexpectedly from behind and hit the ship. An alarm started blaring – the engine was damaged. Another blast hit the ship, sending them spinning out of control.

“Shit!” Poe said. “Rey, is there anything you can do?”

Rey was already frantically searching the control panels for a wire she could trip or a fuse she could switch, but there was nothing. Poe watched in horror as they spun right for the First Order shuttle. They were going to collide and there was nothing he could do about it.

“Finn-“

“Save it,” said Finn. “We’re gonna survive this.”

He gave Poe a quick kiss on the cheek, then sat back and strapped himself into his seat. They all braced themselves for impact. Then with a horrible crash of metal on metal, the two ships collided. Poe gripped the controls, trying in vain to steer the ship safely toward the surface of the mysterious planet below. But he knew it was no use. Both ships were tumbling out of the sky in a pillar of flame and smoke, headed for an unknown planet where they may or may not end up stranded. If they even survived the crash.

“I take it back,” Finn shouted over the roaring of the engine. “You can make all the dying declarations you like.”

Poe laughed in spite of himself. 

“Naw, sweetheart, I ain’t jinxing it now.”

He held out his hand and Finn took it, then Rey, and they all held on tight as they watched the earth hurtle toward them.

 

***

 

Poe groaned and opened his eyes. Every part of his body ached and the stench of smoke was thick in his lungs. He turned his head and saw Rey struggling to push some debris out of the way so they could escape the wreck. 

“Oh good, you’re alive. Help me with this, will you?” she said.

Poe unbuckled his restraints and climbed carefully over to help her, casting an anxious glance at where Finn was, still unconscious and strapped to his seat.

“I think he’s okay,” said Rey, following his gaze. “But I don’t think the rest of the crew are. The cabin was basically an inferno.”

Poe’s heart sank. 

“Damn…” 

He scowled at the debris blocking the path out of the cockpit, then turned to the viewport.

“I’ve got a better way out,” he announced.

He drew his blaster from its holster and shot the viewport glass. The blast glanced off and flew into the wall behind him instead.

“Dammit, Poe, did you really think that was going to work?” Rey said. “You _know_ viewport glass is blast-proof.”

“Yeah, I know, and for once that fact is really inconvenient…”

“It might not be everything-proof though,” said Rey. “Maybe we can still break it.”

She clambered up onto the control panel and yanked off a lever. 

“Come on, grab something,” she said.

Poe picked up a heavy slab of metal from the debris pile and joined her on the control panel, then they both started trying to smash the glass. They had managed to start a couple of cracks when they were interrupted by a quiet groan. Finn was waking up. They both hurried to his side just as he opened his eyes.

“Oh hey, we survived,” he mumbled.

“Yeah, we did,” said Poe. “Well, the three of us did. How’re you feeling?”

“Well my head hurts, but I’m alive so I can’t complain,” said Finn.

“Good,” said Rey, smiling. “Come on, we need to break out of here before the whole ship catches fire.”

They returned to the viewport, and with Finn’s help the cracks they had started began to grow. At last, they managed to smash a big enough hole for them to crawl out. They stumbled out into a grassy field and looked around. The planet they had crashed on seemed pleasant enough. The sky was blue and nearly cloudless, and there were trees lining the field. The trouble was, from where they had landed, there was no visible sign of civilization where they might be able to buy passage home. 

A few yards from their own ship was the flaming wreck of the First Order shuttle they had brought down with them. At first glance it looked as though it would be a miracle if anyone on board survived. But then Poe noticed three tall, disheveled figures sitting on a fallen log just twenty feet away. 

“Ah shit,” he muttered. “Looks like we’re not the only survivors.”

Finn and Rey turned and groaned in unison.

“Great. This’ll be fun,” said Finn.

Though none of them particularly like the idea, somehow they all silently decided to approach the others. They came to a stop a little ways away, keeping their distance. All of them looked the worse for wear. Hux’s usually neatly-gelled hair was sticking out at odd angles, Kylo Ren had removed his helmet and looked rather exhausted, and while Captain Phasma was still in her full stormtrooper armor, there were several scratches and burn-marks on the shiny surface and her cape was ripped and scorched.

“What do you want?” Hux asked irritably, eyeing them as though this was all their fault. Which admittedly it kind of was.

“Wow, okay, if you’re gonna be like that,” said Poe.

“Poe…” Finn warned.

“Right. Sorry. Be the bigger person. Since we’re all stranded here,” said Poe.

“If you’re saying that you’re going to offer us your help, we don’t need or want it,” said Ren.

“Actually, I have no idea why we’re talking to you, so on that note, we’ll just go,” Poe said.

He turned to leave, but Finn and Rey grabbed his arms to stop him.

“Come on, guys, what are we gonna do, apologize for crashing into their ship?”

“Did any of your crew make it?” Finn asked.

There were several seconds of silence as everyone stared at him in surprise.

“No,” said Phasma at last. “We’re all that’s left.”

“Us too,” said Finn. 

“Oh good, that’s six people on this planet that we know of,” said Hux sarcastically. “I’m so glad we’ve established that.”

“Seven,” said Rey suddenly. 

“What?” Poe and Finn said.

“There’s someone over there. Across the field.”

They all turned to look where she was pointing. Sure enough, someone was walking across the field towards them. They seemed to be wounded, or maybe intoxicated, because they were staggering clumsily along, weaving and limping. 

“Something’s wrong with them,” said Poe. “They’re hurt.”

“No… I don’t think they are…” said Rey.

“How do you know?” Finn asked.

“I can just… tell.”

The person was getting closer, but they still weren’t near enough to tell what was wrong.

“I’ve got a very bad feeling about this,” said Ren.

The person reached the crest of the hill and Poe’s stomach dropped. It was a young man, but he looked like he’d been dead for days. His skin was sickly pale, sagging, and peeling away in places. Chunks of his hair were missing and his clothes were tattered and torn. He seemed to be rotting where he stood.

“Good god,” Hux said.

“What the hell happened to him?” said Finn.

The man continued staggering forward until he reached them, then he lunged at Finn with his teeth bared. Finn leapt out of the way, but the man only took a moment to recover before reaching for Rey and grabbing the front of her shirt. He had barely begun to drag her toward him when there was a blaster shot and he crumpled to the ground. They turned to see Phasma aiming her blaster at the man, making sure he stayed down.

“Um… thanks?” said Rey.

“Well, everyone else was just standing around, someone had to shoot it,” Phasma said.

“What was that thing?” said Finn.

“I dunno, but it wasn’t good,” said Poe.

“Unfortunately, it looks like that wasn’t the only one,” said Ren, pointing at the horizon.

They all turned. Limping across the field where the first man had appeared and moving considerably faster were several more of the half-dead creatures. 

“Oh shit,” said Poe.

“We should run,” Rey said.

“Good idea,” Finn agreed, grabbing both of their hands.

They all turned tail and ran, hardly paying attention to where they were going, just as long as it led them as far from those creatures as possible. When they made it to the tree line, Poe risked looking over his shoulder. The creatures were nowhere to be seen.

“Hey guys, stop, slow down,” he said. “I think we lost them.”

They all skidded to a halt, panting. 

“Did we actually lose them or are they catching up?” Hux asked.

Rey ventured closer to the outside edge of the forest to take a look.

“I don’t think they can come into the forest,” she said. “They’ve stopped running, they’re all just… standing around. Pacing. Like they’re waiting for us to come back out.”

“That’s weird,” said Poe. “I wonder why.”

“Really? _That’s_ at the top of your list of questions?” said Hux.

“You are _such_ a critic,” Poe said. “Obviously I’m more concerned about why the fuck a bunch of corpses are chasing us than I am about why they don’t like trees.”

“Okay, maybe if we’re gonna have to work together, we should make a ‘Poe and Hux don’t talk to each other’ rule,” said Finn.

“Working together?” Hux said.

“Finn, you can’t be saying you actually want to work with the people who tormented you your entire life,” said Poe incredulously.

“I never said I want to,” said Finn. “But at the moment, I kinda think it’s our best option for survival. Those creatures outnumber us by like, a ton. So teaming up with these guys until we can find a way off this planet might not be such a bad idea.”

“As much as it pains me to say it, he’s not wrong,” Ren said. 

“But how can we trust that no one will kill each other?” Phasma asked.

“We can’t, really,” said Rey. “We just have to trust that everyone else’s survival instinct is strong enough that they won’t kill someone who might just save their life. And considering you already saved mine, I have a feeling that’s not as risky a bet as it might sound.”

“I may not like it, but you’re right,” said Poe. “I’m in.”

“General?” Phasma said. “Are you in or are you out?”

“Well, it’s not as though I’m going to go up against those things by myself,” said Hux grudgingly. “So I suppose I’m in.”


	2. An Uneasy Alliance

They walked for what must have been hours in uncomfortable silence. Though it seemed those creatures were unable to enter the forest, all of them were still on edge. There was no knowing what other monstrosities this planet held. It was starting to get dark when Rey stopped so suddenly that Finn and Poe both walked into her.

“Why are we stopping?” Phasma asked. 

“Did you hear that?” said Rey.

“Hear what?” Poe said.

“Running water,” Rey replied. “There’s a river nearby.”

She hurried ahead, leaving the others to scramble after her. They caught up with her on the banks of a small river, babbling gently over the rocks.

“How did you even hear that?” Finn said. 

“Clearly you’ve all spent too much time in close proximity to blaster fire,” said Rey.

“That’s probably true,” said Poe. “This would be a good place to stay for the night. I don’t think we should be wandering the woods in the dark, especially with those things and Force knows what else roaming around.”

“Good thinking,” said Finn. 

They settled in, gathering wood for a fire, drinking from the river and splashing water on their sweaty faces. Once they’d built a suitable fire pit, Rey took two stones from the shore and started striking them together, trying to make a spark to light the fire. 

“Maybe the rocks are damp,” Finn suggested after several fruitless minutes.

Hux rolled his eyes and reached into his pocket, taking out a lighter. He lit it and held it to the wood. Within seconds, a warm fire was blazing.

“How long were you gonna just sit there with that in your pocket?” Poe said.

Hux shrugged and leaned back against a tree. Poe shook his head in exasperation. 

“You are such an asshole…”

“You know,” said Rey. “Those creatures were definitely people. Or they used to be. That means there had to be people living on this planet at one point. Maybe there still are.”

“And what good does that do?” Ren said. “If there’s anyone still alive on this planet, how do we know they’ll help us? If we can even find them.”

“The river,” Rey replied. “This is a pretty unsettled planet by the looks of it. If there’s a settlement, and I’m sure there is, they’d have built it near the water, a lake or something. If we follow the river, I bet we’ll find the settlement.”

“And if everyone is dead?”

“There might be a ship. And if it’s not working, I think between the six of us we have enough skills to fix it.”

 

They soon settled down for the night. They had agreed it was best to share guard duties since none of them really trusted any single person not to kill half the group in their sleep, so Poe and Phasma took the first watch.

When morning came, they stamped out the remains of the fire and began their trek along the river’s edge. Their progress was slow and weary and it was obvious even in the silence that they were all getting irritable. None of them had eaten since early yesterday, and it was wearing on them.

“I don’t suppose you’ve got a bunch of food in your pockets too, Hux,” said Finn.

“No, I-…. Actually, just a moment.” Hux paused a moment to search his pockets. “Alright, no I don’t.”

Ren smirked.

“Was there actually a possibility that you did?” he asked.

“I usually keep food in my coat in case a meeting goes long,” Hux admitted, blushing slightly.

“You left your coat on the ship, sir,” Phasma pointed out.

Hux froze, looking so aghast that Poe couldn’t help snickering. 

“If I weren’t depending on your superior piloting skills to get us off this rock, I’d kill you right now, Dameron,” Hux said.

“Actually…” Rey began, giving Poe a teasing grin.

“Don’t you dare,” said Poe. 

“Hey guys, look!” said Finn suddenly.

He was pointing just ahead of them to a thick bramble bush full of berries. 

“Thank the stars,” Ren said, starting toward the bush.

Rey grabbed his arm to hold him back.

“What if they’re poisonous?”

“It’s either this or starve,” said Ren.

“Well, there’s no point in all of us dying if they are,” said Poe.

He stepped forward and plucked one of the berries.

“Poe, wait!” Finn said.

“Somebody’s gotta do it.”

“But why you?”

“‘Cause I volunteered first, I guess.”

Finn groaned anxiously as Poe popped the berry into his mouth. There was a moment of tense silence as they all stared at him, waiting. Then Poe’s eyes widened and he melodramatically pretended to choke.

“Oh no, I’m dying!” he gasped, trying and failing not to laugh at the others’ exasperated faces. “Go on without me!”

“Ha ha, very funny, Poe,” said Finn, rolling his eyes.

Poe grinned.

“Sorry, couldn’t resist,” he said. “The berries are fine, a little tart is all.”

“Are you capable of taking _anything_ seriously?” Hux scoffed.

“Debatable.”

They all gathered around the bush and started to eat, Rey giving Poe a smack to the back of the head as she passed by. When they had all eaten their fill, Phasma removed her helmet and filled it with berries like a bucket. By the time they were finished, the bush was nearly stripped bare. 

They continued on their way, following the river as it began to speed up, leading them downhill. Poe caught up with Finn and linked their arms.

“I probably shouldn’t try anything like that again, should I?” he said.

“Probably not,” said Finn. “If you did, someone might kick your ass to the next star system, and I can’t promise I won’t be me.”

Poe chuckled.

“Don’t worry, I’ll behave myself.”


	3. Kala

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My resolve to wait a week/several days between chapters is slipping. I'm so far ahead in my writing.
> 
> Also, given how things are going to be going soon, I feel I should warn you all of my bizarre fascination with General Hux and therefore his frequent featuring in this fic even though he almost never is the POV character. I can't explain it either, so you're all just gonna have to learn to accept it as I have.

Poe woke with a start. Dawn had barely broken – pale light filtered through the branches overhead, making the faces of his sleeping companions look almost sickly in the half-gloom. He sat up, wondering what had yanked him so suddenly from sleep. Then he saw Rey and Hux standing at the edge of their encampment, both clearly on guard. He got quietly to his feet and went to join them.

“We heard something in the trees,” Rey whispered.

Apparently she had felt Poe arrive. Hux hadn’t, however, and jumped in alarm at his sudden presence.

“It couldn’t be one of those things,” Poe said quietly.

“I don’t think so,” said Rey.

A branch snapped and Poe tensed, his hand going instinctively to his blaster.

“What was that?” Ren asked suddenly; apparently he had woken at the sound.

All three of them shushed him. There was a chorus of loud rustling from a nearby cluster of trees, then someone tumbled from between the branches and fell to the ground. Poe and Hux drew their blasters, Rey and Ren ignited their lightsabers, and Finn and Phasma both woke up, scrambling to their feet, ready to fight. 

None of them moved as the intruder struggled to their knees and looked up. It was a young woman, pale and exhausted, with long jet-black hair that fell like curtains around her face and made her look even paler in contrast. 

“Who are you?” Rey asked.

She still held her lightsaber at the ready, but now that it was clear the newcomer wasn’t one of the corpses, she seemed to have relaxed a bit.

“I’m Kala,” the woman replied. “I saw the smoke from your fire. I thought you could help me.”

“Why would we help you?” Hux said.

“Shut up, Hux,” said Poe. “Of course we’ll help you. How did you end up on this planet?”

“I crashed here with my crew,” Kala said. “I’m the only one left. The others were all killed by the corpses.”

“We crashed here too,” said Rey. “Are you hungry? We’ve got a bit of food.”

Hux scoffed.

“What?” Rey said, turning to him with a stone-cold scowl.

“Are you just going to adopt anyone we happen across, let them have what little provisions we’ve got, without knowing anything but their name?” Hux said.

“Yes,” said Rey. “If you’ve got a problem with that, you’re free to go.”

Hux didn’t respond to that. Poe smirked, then went to help Kala up and led her to what was left of their fire. Finn passed over Phasma’s helmet full of berries. Kala took it and began eating ravenously. After several seconds of awkward silence, Poe frowned, noticing a patch of drying blood peeking out from behind Kala’s collar.

“You’re hurt,” he said.

“It’s not too bad,” Kala said. “One of those things bit me is all.”

“It bit you?”

“Yeah. I’ll just clean it off in the river, no big deal.”

“You sure?” Poe said.

Kala just nodded, handing Phasma’s helmet back to Finn and wiping berry juice from her mouth with the back of her hand. 

“So,” she said. “Those two are obviously First Order.” She gestured at Hux and Phasma. “He looks like a Vader wannabe.” She raised an eyebrow at Ren. “But what about you three? Are you smugglers too or just some unlucky bastards?”

She glanced between Poe, Rey, and Finn. None of them were wearing anything that could link them to the Resistance, for the security of their mission.

“You’re a smuggler?” Phasma said.

“Yeah,” said Kala. “Not a very good one, I guess, since I got shot down by a couple of bounty hunters.”

“I’m sure you’re a great smuggler,” said Finn.

Kala flashed him a lopsided grin.

“Thanks. But you didn’t answer my question.”

“We’re with the Resistance,” said Poe. “Though I guess you could say we’re unlucky bastards too.”

“Gotta be, getting trapped on this hell hole planet,” said Kala. “So, Resistance, eh? What’re you doing with these First Order folks?”

“An unfortunate requirement,” said Hux. “I assure you, we would not be working together under any other circumstances.”

"How long have you been on this planet?” Ren asked. “You must know more about those creatures than we do.”

“Probably not,” said Kala. “All I know is they’re walking corpses and they eat people.”

“They _eat_ people?!” said Finn, eyes wide in alarm.

“You haven’t lost anybody since you landed here, have you?”

“Everybody else died in the crash,” said Rey. 

“Then you guys are lucky, and you better hope you stay that way,” said Kala. “It’s not a pretty sight and I certainly wouldn’t wanna go like that.”

“Why couldn’t we have crashed literally anywhere else…” Poe muttered.

“Well, I’m not complaining,” said Kala. “If you hadn’t been here for me to find, I’d probably be dead by tonight. So. Have you got any plans for getting off this rock?”

“We’ve been following the river,” said Phasma. “We’re hoping there’s a village.”

“I think all the villagers will have joined the corpses by now.”

“But there might be a ship,” said Poe. 

“I hope you don’t mind me joining you,” said Kala.

“Of course not,” Rey said, shooting a glare over at Hux, who looked like he minded very much.

They cleared up their camp while Kala drank from the river, then continued on. They walked for hours in silence; they were tired, hungry, and on edge, both from their situation and their companions, and they all seemed to have silently agreed that talking would only lead to an argument that they couldn’t afford to have. 

By mid-afternoon, Kala had started to lag behind. Poe kept casting glances back at her, noticing how much more pale and exhausted she looked each time. Finally he held back to walk next to her.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked. 

“I’m fine,” said Kala.

She sounded winded.

“You don’t look it.”

“I’ll be fine, I just-“

Suddenly she cried out and fell to her knees, doubled over in pain.

“Kala!” Poe gasped, kneeling beside her.

She was trembling violently, her hair falling into her face.

“What’s wrong? How can I help?” Poe said desperately.

Kala just moaned through gritted teeth.

“What happened?” Rey asked.

They others had hurried over when Kala cried out.

“I dunno, she just collapsed,” said Poe. “Come on, Kala, talk to me.”

Finally she looked up at him and his stomach dropped in horror. She was paler than ever – pale as death – and her skin was beginning to sag around her eyes, peeling away in places like a sunburn. Her eyes were bloodshot, the whites yellowing, pupils dilated and cloudy. Her eyebrows were knit together, the last hint of human expression on her face, staring at him with a flicker of remorse. Then it was gone and the transformation was complete. She was one of them.

“Oh shit,” Poe breathed.

Then Kala pounced, knocking him flat on his back.

“Poe!” Finn cried.

He tried to pull Kala away, but she elbowed him aside and lunged once again for Poe’s throat. Poe tried to hold her at bay, but he knew it was only a matter of time before he lost. She was stronger than she looked. Ren stepped forward and grabbed her from behind, dragging her off of Poe. Kala struggled, limbs flailing, trying to get at Ren now, but Finn raised his blaster and shot her through the heart. She went limp and Ren dropped her unceremoniously on the ground. Finn scrambled over to Poe.

“Are you okay? Did she hurt you?” he asked.

Poe just shook his head, chest heaving, heart beating so frantically he could hear it pounding in his ears. 

“She… _turned into_ one of them,” said Hux, staring at Kala’s body with a mixture of horror and disgust. “How?”

“She said they bit her,” said Rey. “One of the corpses. It must be transmittable or something.”

“What, like a disease?” Phasma said.

“Exactly like a disease.”

“You got lucky, pilot,” said Phasma. “You could’ve been next.”

“No kidding,” said Poe.

He let Finn help him up, but kept a tight grip on his arm. He still felt pretty shaken.

“Are you sure you’re alright? You look a bit like you might vomit,” said Ren.

“Yeah well, jury’s still out on that,” said Poe. “But I’m not hurt. Are you okay, though? I mean, you sound almost concerned so…”

Hux rolled his eyes.

“He’s fine,” he said. 

“Do you think she knew?” Finn said. “That this would happen, I mean?”  
“I don’t think so,” said Poe. “She definitely thought she was gonna be okay.”

“Shit… well,” said Finn. “I guess that makes another thing we know about them…”

“What do you think we should do with her body?” Rey asked.

“Just leave it,” said Hux. “We don’t have the time or tools to bury her. Not to mention she just tried to kill your friend, so I don’t know why you’d want to.”

Rey frowned.

“I liked her. I feel bad just leaving her.”

“As much as I hate to agree with Hux, he’s right,” said Poe. “There’s nothing else we can do.”

“I know,” said Rey.

She looked back at Kala one last time, then led them onward.


	4. One Down

The silence as they continued their trek had turned heavy. The tension was thick between them, no longer because of animosity, but because of Kala’s fate and the newfound knowledge that with one wrong move, any of them could be next.

They made camp that night, but the chances of anyone getting much sleep were slim. When morning came again, they ate a dissatisfying breakfast of now overripe berries, then continued following the river. For three days they went on like this, barely speaking to one another, barely sleeping. The few remaining berries had gone bad by the second evening, so now they had no food. They were starving and exhausted and quickly losing hope.

It was noon on the third day since they met and lost Kala when they reached the edge of the treeline. Ahead of them spread a vast field covered in tall brown grass, the river cutting through the middle. The forest continued on the other side, but there was nothing else they could do. They had to cross the field.

“The coast looks clear,” said Finn. “Maybe there aren’t any corpses here.”

“Unlikely,” said Ren. “Still, we don’t have much choice.”

“I say we run,” said Rey. 

No one said anything, but it was really the best and only option. They hesitated a moment, bracing themselves for whatever lay hidden in the field. Then they ran. 

They had made it a quarter of the way across when a chorus of guttural shrieks filled the air. Nearly two dozen corpses were running at them, surrounding them from all sides. Poe skidded to a halt and drew his blaster. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the others doing the same, forming a circle back to back to so no one’s blindspots went uncovered. 

For a moment, the air was filled with just the humming of Rey’s and Kylo Ren’s lightsabers. Then the corpses came into range and four sets of blaster fire broke the quiet. The second the blasts met their mark, it was as if permission had been granted to strike. The six companions leapt toward the monsters, guns blazing and sabers swinging, not caring that they were horribly outnumbered. Their only option was to fight, and gods be damned if any of them were going to go down easy.

The corpses had no weapons but their own rabid savagery, but they were fast and unpredictable. Still, they stood no chance against blasters and lightsabers and soon nearly all the creatures were dead. Poe shot down one that had been running at Phasma from behind, then turned just in time to be tackled by another. His gun flew from his hand as he hit the ground so he punched it in the face instead. The creature didn’t seem phased. It snarled and lunged at him, sinking its teeth into his shoulder. Poe cried out in pain and tried to push it off. Suddenly there was a blaster shot and the creature collapsed onto his chest, dead. Poe scrambled out from under it and got to his feet. Finn was standing there, blaster still raised.

“Are you okay? You’re bleeding!” he said.

Poe looked down at his shoulder. It was a nasty wound, blood intermingling with bits of the corpse’s thick saliva. The kind of wound that was bound to get infected. But he knew he wouldn’t live long enough for that to happen. He looked back at Finn, fighting the urge to vomit.

“I… Finn,” he said. “I-it bit me.”

The silence that followed was heavier than any he’d ever experienced. 

“No,” Finn said at last. “No. It can’t have. That would mean-“

“Yeah.”

“No. This wasn’t supposed to happen.”

“But it did,” Poe said grimly. He took a deep breath. “You know what has to be done.”

Finn stared at him, horror and grief-stricken as he realized what Poe meant.

“No. Poe, you can’t,” he said.

“I have to,” said Poe. “I’m gonna have to be put down eventually. Better now than when I go rabid and try to kill you all. I’m gonna die, Finn. So I’d rather die while I’m still me.”

Finn shook his head. His eyes were filled with tears.

“Poe, you can’t make me do that,” he said. “I can’t kill you.”

“You’re not gonna be the one to do it. I would never make you do that.”

“Then who?”

Poe hesitated before responding.

“Hux. I want Hux to do it.”

He turned to face the general, who looked slightly taken aback.

“Me?” Hux said. “Why me?”

“Because I know you won’t back out,” said Poe. “I know you’ll do what has to be done.”

Hux stared at him for a moment, then nodded curtly and drew his blaster from its holster.

“Not here,” Poe said. “I don’t want Finn and Rey to have to see it.”

“The forest, then?” Hux said.

Poe nodded.

“Just… give me a moment to say goodbye.”

Hux nodded again. Poe turned back to Finn and Rey. 

“This isn’t fair,” said Rey. “We were all supposed to make it.”

“I know,” said Poe, pulling her into a hug. “But if one of us was gonna go down, I’m glad it was me.”

Rey buried her face in his unwounded shoulder and Poe felt her hot tears dampening his shirt.

“Look after Finn for me, okay?” he murmured.

“I will,” said Rey.

They pulled apart, then Poe turned to Finn. They just stared at each other for a moment before Finn threw himself at Poe and kissed him hard. Poe responded desperately, wanting more than anything for this to be the last thing he remembered about being alive. At last they broke apart, both breathless, foreheads touching.

“See you on the other side, I guess,” Poe said.

“Probably sooner than later,” said Finn.

“Make it later.”

“I’ll try.”

“I love you, Finn.”

“I love you too.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I know.”

Poe kissed him again, brief but tender, then pulled away. He walked backwards toward Hux, wanting to keep Finn in his sight for as long as possible. Then he turned and followed Hux into the forest. Trees had never felt so uninviting to Poe as they did now, walking to his death. It seemed both like forever and only a few seconds before they stopped in a small clearing filled with ferns and wildflowers. Poe glanced around. They must have passed this place before without him even noticing. It wasn’t such a bad place to die. He wondered vaguely if some small humane part of Hux had chosen this spot for just that reason. They turned to face each other.

“Are you ready?” Hux asked.

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” said Poe.

He took a deep breath and squared his shoulders. His heart was hammering as though determined to get in as many beats as it could before it was stopped. Hux raised his blaster, aiming it pointblank at Poe’s forehead.

“Okay. Do it,” said Poe quietly.

Hux hesitated a moment and something almost like remorse flashed in his green eyes. Then he pulled the trigger. 

Back in the meadow, the sound of a blaster shot echoed through the air, and Finn let out a choked sob as he sank to his knees.


	5. Five To Go

Hux slowly lowered the blaster. He realized he’d been holding his breath and exhaled shakily. He stared down at the body in front of him, his heart beating so frantically it echoed in his ears. It wasn’t that he’d never taken a life before. He had. But something about this time was different. Something about killing Poe Dameron was different. 

He hated Dameron and everything he stood for, so killing him should have felt good. But it didn’t. Perhaps it was because of the circumstances that had forced them to work together for survival. Or maybe the fact that Dameron had asked _him_ to put him down, when he could have asked Ren or Phasma without getting any sort of resistance. He had trusted Hux with his death. And for some reason, that changed everything.

Hux stowed his blaster back in its holster and considered the body at his feet. Dameron had fallen on his back, his limbs splayed out at awkward angles, his eyes open and staring unseeing at the canopy of leaves above him. A trickle of blood crept down his forehead from the blast wound and the grass beneath his head was dark and wet. 

It felt wrong just to leave him there like this, despite what he had said when faced with Kala’s body. They may have been enemies, but Hux couldn’t help thinking that the pilot still deserved some level of honor. He couldn’t give him a proper burial, but he could at least do something other than leave him lying around like carrion. 

Hux knelt down and closed Dameron’s eyes, then rearranged his limbs as he would for a funeral. He hesitated a moment, then used his sleeve to wipe away the blood on Dameron’s face. He stood up and frowned. No, he wasn’t quite finished. He went over to a patch of wildflowers and yanked up a handful, roots and all, then went back to Dameron’s body and began arranging the flowers around his head, hiding the pool of blood that stained the grass beneath him. When there was just one flower left, he folded Dameron’s hands over his chest and placed the flower between them. 

He stood up again, inspecting his handiwork. Except for the gaping wound in his forehead, Dameron looked peaceful. It may not be a tomb like the Resistance would have given him, but it was still a fitting resting place for a man like Poe Dameron. A great man, Hux had to admit. He may have hated the pilot, but he realized now that he couldn’t help respecting him. Though he would never tell that to anyone else.

Satisfied, Hux turned his back on the coffin of wildflowers and left the forest.

 

***

 

Rey knelt next to Finn, her own face wet with tears as she tried to comfort him. He was inconsolable, but the least she could do was put her arms around his shoulders and cry with him. A few minutes later than she would have expected, Hux rejoined them. He seemed composed as ever, but Rey could sense a hint of something else, a crack in his steely resolve. There were a few drops of blood splattered across his face which he didn’t seem to have noticed. 

“We should keep going,” he said. “We shouldn’t be in the open so long.”

Rey turned back to Finn.

“Come on,” she said gently. “We have to go.”

For a moment she thought Finn was going to refuse, but then he nodded and got to his feet, drying his eyes on his sleeve. He was about to start walking when he froze, staring at the ground. Rey followed his gaze. Poe’s blaster lay in the grass a few feet away from the monster that bit him, forgotten and now unneeded. Finn bent down and picked it up, holding it in his hands like it was something precious. In a way it was. It was the only thing they had left of Poe Dameron. 

He turned to Rey and held the blaster out to her.

“You should take it,” he said.

His voice was hoarse and weary from crying.

“It’s Poe’s,” Rey said. “You should have it.”

“You’re great with a lightsaber, but you never know when you’ll need a blaster,” said Finn. “Take it.”

Rey stared at him sadly.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah.”

Rey hesitated, then took the blaster and inspected it. It was heavier than it looked but still light enough to be held in one hand. Some of the finish on the handle and trigger had worn away from frequent use; Rey could almost tell the kind of grip Poe held on his weapon just from these marks. She wrapped her own hand around the handle, letting her fingers fall into the same worn places left by Poe. Then she tucked the blaster into her belt.

“Let’s go,” she said.

She took Finn’s hand and began to lead the way across the rest of the field. She glanced back over her shoulder at the others. She was surprised that they had let her and Finn linger so long. But something about what had happened to Poe seemed to have changed the entire dynamic of the weary band. Their situation had gone from unfortunate misadventure to terribly, horrifically real and no one had been prepared for it. Everyone was shaken, whether they gave a shit about Poe or not.

Rey turned her gaze to Hux, who had taken up the rear. Now that no one was looking at him, or so he thought, he had let his mask slip just a little. He seemed to have gone into shock. He was staring at the ground as he walked rather than disdainfully ahead as he normally did. His eyes were wide in the sort of numb, confused way that someone would get after hearing unexpected news, before they had quite figured out what they were supposed to be feeling. Rey looked away, feeling almost guilty for what she had seen.

 

***

 

They went just far enough into the forest to be sure they were safe from the corpses before they stopped and set up camp. No one had the energy to go farther. Finn sat down against a tree and stayed there, pulling his knees up to his chest. He was grateful that no one gave him grief for not helping with the fire; they all just went about their work without him. He doubted that anyone but Rey did it out of pity, but rather out of some level of understanding that he was just far too emotionally exhausted to do anything. 

When the fire had been lit, the five of them sat around it in silence. They had no food and no idea when they would find more, and after the events of the day, it seemed unlikely any of them would be able to sleep, no matter how tired they were. 

But it was Poe’s absence that hurt Finn the most, that caused the hollow ache in his chest and the spinning in his head. He had grown so used to Poe’s constant closeness, their hands clasped, shoulders brushing. The space beside him felt so empty without Poe there. Rey sat next to him, holding his hand, and he was grateful for that. But she couldn’t heal his wounds.


	6. The Necromancer

It didn’t occur to Poe right away that it should be odd that his head was hurting, or that he was feeling anything at all. At first he was just aware of the pain, the dull throbbing radiating from the center of his forehead to the back of his skull in a straight line. The next thing he realized was that he was warm, lying on something that might have been a vaguely uncomfortable bed. Next his hearing kicked in and he noticed the sound of a crackling fire. It was then that he finally remembered that he was dead.

_Oh fuck, am I in hell?_

He opened his eyes. In the dim light, he could just make out the thatched ceiling above him, orange tongues of light dancing across it from the nearby fire. Slowly, he turned his head. He was in a small hut, lit only by the fire in the middle of the room. A large cooking pot hung over the firepit, giving off an enticing smell. The walls of the hut were lined with shelves full of jars, and many cages hung from the ceiling, home to a variety of brightly colored birds. And standing over a table just beyond the firepit, his back to Poe, was a man. 

Poe swallowed hard, his stomach twisting both from nerves and from the temptation of whatever was cooking in that cauldron. If this was hell, it was nothing like he’d pictured it. He had to get out of here. Slowly, quietly, he swung his legs over the side of his bed and went to sit up. But the second he was upright, a wave of dizzying, blinding pain rushed through his head and he fell face first onto the hard dirt floor. There was a shuffling of footsteps and an exasperated sigh, then a pair of worn-out boots appeared in front of Poe. The man bent down and rolled Poe onto his back. He was old and bearded with fierce yellow eyes, but a kind face. Hell was a strange place indeed.

“You know, you really shouldn’t try being up and about so soon after coming back from the dead,” the old man said.

Poe blinked.

“What?”

“You heard me,” said the man. “Now up you get.”

He placed a hand behind Poe’s shoulders and helped him sit up, then gently guided him back onto the bed. Poe just kept staring at him, his head still hurting too much for him to process what the old man had said.

“What do you mean, ‘back from the dead’?” 

“Well, what else could I mean?” said the man. “You are no longer dead. You’re alive once again. Heart pumping, lungs breathing, though clearly your brain still has a bit of catching up to do.”

Poe scowled.

“Oh, no need to be so offended,” the man chuckled. “You were shot in the head, after all, it’s only natural for things to be a bit scrambled up there at first.”

“So I’m really back from the dead,” said Poe. “Okay. Still trying to get used to that concept. I have some questions though.”

“Naturally.”

“First, am I still in danger of turning into one of those monsters?”

“Only if you’re foolish enough to get bitten again.”

Poe sighed in relief.

“Okay, second, how the fuck did I come back from the dead?”

“Well, I brought you back, of course,” said the man. “I’m a necromancer.”

“You’re serious?”

“Dead serious.”

Poe stared at him.

“You just made a joke.”

“Yes, it appears I did.”

“A terrible joke.”

“Oh, I know. But I’ve been waiting to use it for years.”

Poe grinned, unable to help himself.

“I’m Poe. Poe Dameron,” he said, holding out his hand.

The old man took it.

“A pleasure to meet you, Poe Dameron,” he said. “I’m Mot.”

“Nice to meet you, Mot. And thanks for bringing me back. Being dead wasn’t exactly on my to-do list for the day.”

“And yet you chose to die rather than endanger your friends,” said Mot. “You’re a very noble young man.”

“How did you know I chose that?” said Poe.

“I was there. This hut is only half a mile from the place where you died. I was going there to gather ingredients for a potion. Your friend even saved me the trouble of picking them myself.”

“What?”

“The flowers I needed for my potion,” Mot explained. “Your friend arranged them around you like a funeral bed.”

Poe just stared at him, more shocked by this than he was to learn he was back from the dead. Hux wouldn’t do something like that. He just wouldn’t. Not even for someone he cared about, if such a person even existed.

“This… friend,” he said. “What did they look like?”

“A tall young man. Red hair. The same one that killed you,” Mot replied. “Why?”

“Because… he’s not my friend. We’re enemies, we just… all crash landed here so we had to work together. He hates my living guts, why would he…”

Poe trailed off. Mot watched him with a smile.

“Stranger things have happened on this planet,” he said.

“I suppose I’m one of those stranger things now,” Poe said with a wry smile. “How many people can say they’ve risen from the dead?”

“Just you.”

“So it’s true then. Nobody’s ever succeeded in raising the dead. Until today.”

“Yes. You are quite the miracle, Poe Dameron,” said Mot. “Many who study the art of necromancy have tried and failed. Including myself, with disastrous consequences.”

“Hang on, do you mean to say… those things… that was… because of you?”

“I’m afraid so.”

“What happened?” Poe asked.

“This planet was once home to a populous village,” said Mot. “Vibrant and full of life. I lived there with my sister, practicing magic, studying. But then my sister became ill. No one knew what was wrong with her and I couldn’t afford to take her to a system with more advanced medical facilities. She died. She was the only person I had, so I tried to bring her back, but… all my knowledge of necromancy was theory. I had never practiced on birds or small animals like most necromancers do. I didn’t have the skills, and my emotions got in the way. So rather than bringing my sister back to life, I ended up cursing every person on this planet, living or dead. Except myself. I was forced to flee. When I discovered that they couldn’t enter the forest, I built myself this hut and have dedicated every moment since then studying and practicing, trying to find a way to reverse what I did or to kill all of the corpses.”

“I’m so sorry,” said Poe.

“Thank you.”

“Have you had any luck?” he asked. “Finding a way to fix it?”

“I believe I am getting close to a solution,” said Mot. “But now’s not the time to get into that. I daresay you’re hungry.”

“Starved,” said Poe.

He had eaten nothing but the berries they’d found since the crash, and the smell rising from the cooking pot had been tormenting him since he woke up. Mot chuckled and went to the pot, scooped some of the contents into a bowl, and brought it over. 

“Thanks,” said Poe, taking the bowl from him.

The stew smelled even better up close, but now that he had food in front of him, Poe felt suddenly nauseous. He wasn’t sure if it was another side effect of resurrection, or if he was simply so hungry he felt sick. He sat there a moment, giving his stomach a chance to settle, then hesitantly took a spoonful of the broth. The effect was instantaneous. Just the taste of food made him feel better and he eagerly took several more bites.

“How long have you been stranded on this planet?” Mot asked, watching him with a look of mild amusement.

“Depends,” said Poe between bites. “How long was I dead?”

“Two days.”

“A week then.” Poe froze, staring down at the bowl in his hands in horror at this realization. “Shit. We’ve been here a whole week. The others must be starved half to death… Oh _fuck_ , the others! Do you know where they are? Are they okay?”

Poe turned desperately to Mot, ashamed of himself for not thinking of his friends sooner. 

“I don’t know,” said Mot. “But I do have ways to find out.”

“You do?” Poe said. “Show me!”

Mot held up a hand to shush him.

“Not tonight,” he said. “You need to finish recovering first.”

“But I’m fine, I’m alive, aren’t I? And I’m not dizzy anymore.”

“Coming back to life is taxing business. You need to rest. Finish your stew and get some sleep. I’ll show you tomorrow. I promise.”

Poe frowned but didn't argue. He’d been scolded enough, even as an adult, to know when it was pointless to keep fighting. He finished the stew and lay back down as Mot shuffled back over to his cluttered table. All the exhaustion of a week struggling to survive suddenly crashed down onto him and Poe had barely closed his eyes before he fell asleep.


	7. Desperation

Three days had passed since they lost Poe. Their progress had been slow, weighed down by a mixture of grief, fear, and hunger. They had thankfully found another berry bush the day before; they were all sick to death of berries, but the threat of starvation won out. Still, it wasn’t nearly enough. 

Finn was beginning to wonder if they’d even make it to the village, or if one by one they’d keel off until someone was left to struggle on alone. If they were taking bets, his money would be on Rey outliving them all. Her rough life as a scavenger on Jakku had made her the most resilient of the group. She was used to working with an empty stomach and she’d been fighting to survive since childhood. Though she was definitely tired, she showed it the least. There was still a spark of fight in her eyes and she was consistently in the lead, scouting ahead while the rest of them trailed along behind. Finn feared that not even adrenaline would be able to save them if they had another run-in with the corpses. But still they trudged on, whether out of the basic instinct to survive or their own stubborn refusal to give up. 

“We’ve been walking for over a week,” said Phasma. It was early morning and they had just left their camp from the previous night. “I’m beginning to think there was never any settlement on this planet at all.”

“Then where did all the corpses come from?” Rey said. “People had to have lived here for all of them to become corpses.”

“Maybe they’re all people who crashed like us,” Ren suggested.

“Surely we’d have seen a few wrecked starships lying around if that were it,” said Finn.

“We don’t know how big this planet it,” said Ren. “We’ve just been following the river. There could be a whole field of starships and we might never know it.”

“So you’re saying we could be totally fucked?” 

“We could be,” said Ren. He paused a moment. “But I don’t think we are.”

“Oh really? What makes you think that?” said Hux bitterly. Clearly he thought they were, in fact, totally fucked.

“Just a feeling,” said Ren. 

“A feeling? Seriously?”

“I would think, by now, you’d have learned not to doubt me. Or at least not to doubt the Force.”

Hux just rolled his eyes. 

“Well, until your _feelings_ clarify the exact level of fucked we are, I’m going to continue having my doubts about them.”

Just then, they came to a sudden stop. They had once again reached the edge of the forest. The field ahead was much smaller than the one before, but covered in the same tall grass that made it impossible to tell what lied in wait.

“Well, at the moment, I feel we’re considerably more fucked than we were a minute ago,” said Ren.

Finn glanced at him, then back out at the field. A knot of anxiety was twisting in his stomach and his heart was hammering. This was all too similar to last time. There had to be corpses hiding among the weeds, just like then. So who in their group would be the next to fall? He looked over at Rey, who was staring ahead with a look of steely determination. No, it wouldn’t be her. It couldn’t be. The grief of losing Poe was still too close. Finn didn’t think he could survive it if he lost Rey now too.

“Fucked or not, we have no choice,” said Phasma. “We can’t stand here forever.”

“Let’s go,” said Rey.

She led the way into the field, starting at a jog, then speeding up. Finn followed close behind. He barely paid attention to where he was going as he scanned the field around them for any sign of an ambush. He was determined that this time they would be ready, that they’d kill every last corpse before anyone had a chance to get hurt.

He was paying so little attention that he didn’t even realize he had tripped until he was falling. He hit the ground with a grunt, the wind was knocked out of him. He started to push himself up when suddenly he heard a snarl behind him. His heart skipped a beat as he realized what he had tripped on.

“Finn!” Rey cried.

She was running back toward him, fumbling as she went to draw Poe’s blaster from her belt. There was another vicious snarl and Finn turned around just as the corpse lunged for him. Ren grabbed it before it could reach Finn. He trapped it in a headlock, but the corpse immediately sank its teeth into his forearm. He cried out in pain but didn’t let go. Three blasts struck the corpse as Rey, Hux, and Phasma all shot it and it went limp in Ren’s grip. The second the corpse hit the ground, Rey was at Finn’s side.

“Are you okay? Did it bite you?” she asked.

“I’m fine,” said Finn.

He let her help him to his feet, then turned to Ren.

“You didn’t have to do that,” he said.

“Well, it’s too late now,” said Ren.

He was surprisingly calm as he looked down at his bleeding arm.

“No,” said Hux suddenly. He was staring at the bite on Ren’s arm, his eyes wide with the first sign of real fear that Finn could ever remember him showing. “No. Not you.”

“Hux…” Ren said.

“No. You’re not going to make me kill you too,” Hux said, his voice cracking.

Finn and Rey exchanged an incredulous glance. Since when did Hux actually care about anyone? Especially Kylo Ren? The few times he’d seen them interact when he was a stormtrooper, Finn had gotten the impression that they hated each other.

“You won’t have to kill me,” said Ren. “It’s just my arm, it won’t have spread far yet.”

“What do you mean? There’s no antidote, Ren, we can’t _fix_ this!” Hux exclaimed.

“Yes, I can.”

There was a slight waver in Ren’s voice now. Finn watched him warily as he started to draw his lightsaber. Suddenly, it all clicked into place.

“Oh _shit_ ,” said Finn, taking a step back. “Are you insane?!”

“I prefer desperate,” said Ren.

It was obvious he was struggling to remain calm now. He ignited his lightsaber and held out his left arm. Finn turned away and hid his face in his hands as Ren swung the lightsaber down, screaming in pain as he severed his arm just above the elbow. Nearly a minute passed in a silence filled only by the sounds of Ren’s labored breathing and his crackling lightsaber. At last he turned off the blade and Finn dared to turn back around. No one had moved. It was as if they had all been frozen by shock. 

“We need to get back into the forest,” said Ren, the pain very obvious in his voice.

He hooked his lightsaber back onto his belt and pushed ahead, leaving the others still rooted to the spot. Slowly, they began to follow. When they caught up with him under the trees, he had sat down against a fallen log. He looked a bit like he might pass out. Hux knelt down next to him.

“You’re a madman, Ren,” he said.

“I thought you liked that about me,” Ren panted.

“No, that’s one of the things I _don’t_ like.”

“Ah. Pity.”

“You should bandage that.”

“With what?”

Hux replied by tearing a strip off of Ren’s cloak. He held Ren’s arm in his hand and began to wrap the makeshift bandage over the wound with a gentleness that Finn never thought he could have possessed. When he was done, he sat next to Ren against the log and let out a heavy sigh. 

The moment over, Finn finally managed to tear his eyes away. The last several minutes had been so bewildering, he’d hardly even realized he was staring. He cleared his throat.

“Well, um… we should probably stay here for a while,” he said. “Y’know, since you just kinda… chopped off your own arm and all that…”

“I would appreciate that,” said Ren.

He looked more exhausted than all of them put together. Though it wasn’t even noon, they set up camp as they had every night. As they sat around the fire, Finn surreptitiously watched Ren and Hux. He wasn’t entirely sure what the nature of their relationship actually was, but all the animosity between them seemed to have suddenly melted. They couldn’t have been faking all those arguments for years. And yet there across the fire, General Hux was letting Kylo Ren sleep with his head in his lap. Finn turned to Rey, who shrugged, just as lost as he was. Phasma was the only one who seemed unfazed. 

They stayed there for the rest of the day, stoking the fire, talking occasionally. Rey ventured away from the river to see if she could find anything else they could eat and returned an hour later with an armful of strange looking mushrooms.

“Are you sure those are edible?” Finn asked as she skewered one on a stick and started roasting it over the fire.

“Yeah,” Rey said. “I met a smuggler on Jakku once who traded me some for a few ship parts.”

When she finished cooking it, she passed the stick over to Finn.

“Here, try it.”

Finn took a tentative bite. It was soft and rubbery like any other mushroom, but it was more rich and flavorful. 

“It’s actually pretty good,” he said.

“Told you,” Rey said with a grin.

She skewered another mushroom and held it over the flames.

Thanks to Rey’s mushrooms, they were all more well-fed by nightfall than they had been in days. Hux took first watch, and neither Finn or Rey were in the least bit anxious that he might kill them in their sleep tonight. Ren was asleep in his lap once again and a reluctance to disturb him seemed to be his primary reason for offering to take the watch. Finn lay down and closed his eyes, feeling for the first time since Poe’s death that maybe they could survive this after all. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> also, i totally made an 8tracks playlist for this fic, so here's the link to that if you feel so inclined ;) 
> 
> http://8tracks.com/pietroandclint/star-wars-apocalypse


	8. Hero Complex

Poe woke up the next morning feeling surprisingly refreshed. The pain in his head had subsided and thanks to Mot’s stew last night, the gnawing ache of several days’ starvation had been replaced by the healthy sort of hunger you get after a long night’s sleep. He got out of bed and shuffled sleepily over to where Mot stood bent over his work table. Mot looked up as he approached.

“Good morning, Mister Dameron,” he said. “Good to see you survived the night.”

“Thanks. Wait, what?”

“The three birds I’ve managed to bring back all died the next time they slept,” Mot explained. “I was worried you might do the same.”

“Excellent,” said Poe. “I can officially say I’m heartier than a bird.”

Mot chuckled.

“Yes you can. Now how about some breakfast, and then I shall fulfill my promise from last night.”

Poe’s heart skipped a beat. He watched as Mot served up a plate of food, doubting he’d even be able to eat it with how anxious he was to find out if Finn was alright. But he could tell just from their interaction last night that Mot was unlikely to let him learn his friends’ fate until he’d eaten. So he took the plate and sat down, watching Mot work as he ate. 

“Where do you get all this food?” he asked.

“I have a garden outside where I grow vegetables and a few potion ingredients,” said Mot. “I gather a few things from the forest. And my birds lay eggs.”

Poe looked up at the birds flitting about their cages.

“I thought you used them as experiments.”

“Only when they die,” said Mot. “This species doesn’t have a particularly long lifespan, so I have a decent rotation of subjects to test my spells on. But they are remarkably fond of human companionship, so I always have new friends.”

Poe smiled.

“One of my best friends in the galaxy is a droid, so I can relate in a way,” he said.

“I take it your droid is back on your home planet.”

“Yeah. Well, back at my base.”

“Ah, you’re a soldier then.”

“A pilot. But yeah.”

Poe picked at the last few bites of his breakfast, his appetite chased away by the sad ache in his chest. He missed BB-8 and his X-Wing and everyone back on D’Qar. They probably all thought he, Finn, and Rey were dead. They’d been missing long enough.

“Are you finished?” Mot asked.

“Yeah,” said Poe. “Thanks.”

Mot took his plate and set it aside.

“Now how about we find your friends. That ought to cheer you up a bit.”

“I hope so.”

The anxious knot was back in his stomach. Three days had passed since he had died. Anything could have happened in that time. What if Mot showed him his friends and all he saw was a pair of dead bodies? Or worse, rabid corpses rotting where they stood?

Mot set a large stone bowl of what appeared to be water on the table in front of Poe, then handed him a large leaf.

“What’s this for?” Poe asked.

“I want you to hold that in your hands and close your eyes,” said Mot. “Then I want you to think of your friends’ names. Just say them in your head three times, then open your eyes and drop the leaf into the bowl.”

Poe raised his eyebrows skeptically but did as he was told. He chanted Finn and Rey’s names in his head, opened his eyes, and dropped the leaf. It floated on the surface for a moment, then disintegrated. At first, he didn’t think it had worked. Then the water rippled and an image came into focus. Finn and Rey were sitting next to a fire, both looking shellshocked and utterly exhausted, but definitely alive. Poe was so relieved that he laughed.

“They’re okay,” he gasped. “Thank the Force, they’re okay!”

He looked up at Mot, who smiled. 

“Thank you. Thank you so much,” he said. “Where are they? Can I go to them?”

“Not yet,” said Mot.

Poe’s smile faltered.

“Why not?”

“Because you’re not ready.”

“But I am,” Poe argued. “I’m alive, I’m healed.”

“That’s not what I meant,” said Mot. “Technically, you could go rejoin them. But it would only be a matter of time before death struck again, and there is no guarantee that I could replicate what I did for you.”

“What, so I’m just supposed to sit here and let them die without me?” said Poe. “I can’t do that. I’d rather die again by their sides than hide away while they get slaughtered.”

“That is not what I meant either,” said Mot. “You’re rather reckless, Mister Dameron. I know you want to help your friends. That you want to fight. But first, you must be prepared.”

“How much more prepared can I be?”

“Well first of all, you have no weapons,” said Mot. 

“And you do?” said Poe.

“I do, actually. But I am far too old to fight.”

Mot went to a cabinet and took out something long and thin wrapped in cloth. He lay it on the table and unfolded it. Inside lay a sword.

“Take it,” said Mot. 

“I don’t know how to fight with that,” said Poe.

“I’ll teach you.”

Poe looked at him, then back to the sword. Slowly, he reached out and picked it up. It was surprisingly light and the hilt fit comfortably in his hand. He paused, then drew it from its sheath. The metallic ring lingered in the air and he held it aloft, admiring the way the firelight reflected on the gleaming blade.

“It’s beautiful,” he breathed.

“It belonged to my father,” said Mot. “He was a great warrior. And now it’s yours.”

Poe stared at him.

“I can’t take this. It was your father’s, and besides, I told you, I don’t know how to fight with something like this. Haven’t you got any blasters?”

Mot chuckled.

“I told you, I’ll teach you how to use it,” he said. “And as for it being my father’s, I’m an old man, Poe. I have no need for nostalgic family heirlooms.”

“Well… thanks,” Poe said. 

He put the sword back in its sheath and set it back on the table.

“So, what else?” he asked. “You said I need to be prepared.”

“You need to know what you’re up against,” said Mot. “And how to stop it.”

“I know what I’m up against,” said Poe. “A bunch of undead monsters. And I’m gonna stop ‘em by cutting their heads off with this sword.”

“You can’t possibly kill every corpse on this planet singlehandedly.”

“I mean, I wasn’t planning on killing _all_ of them, just enough to get home.”

“You know how I said I may be close to finding a way to end this plague?” said Mot.

“Yeah.”

“Well… I finished the spell that should stop it. But there was still one more thing that I needed. And now I’ve got it.”

“What is it?”

“You.”

Poe stared at him.

“Is that why you brought me here?” he said quietly. “Is that why you brought me back to life? So you could use me for some spell?”

“Partially, yes,” said Mot. “But I’m not using you _for_ the spell. You’re going to be the one who casts it.”

“Me? How am _I_ supposed to cast a spell? I’m not a wizard or a necromancer or anything. I’m just a pilot. A pilot without a ship who doesn’t know how to use a sword and _really_ doesn’t know how to use magic or the Force or anything like that. I just wanna find my friends and go home. You’ve got the wrong guy for this.”

“No, I don’t,” said Mot. “You are exactly the man I need.”

“But how-“

“You don’t need to use magic to cast this spell. All the magic you’ll need is already there, bottled up. All you have to do is bring it to the right place and let the spell do its job.”

“Then why can’t you do it?” said Poe.

“I told you. I’m an old man. I don’t have the strength. If I had finished this spell several years ago, I could have done it myself. But now… I need someone to do it for me.”

“But why me?”

“Because you are young and clearly have quite a lot of fight in you,” said Mot. “And because you are noble and determined. You want to save your friends and do what’s right. I know you will do whatever has to be done.”

Poe stared at him again. This man had saved his life, fed him, and was going to help him reunite with Finn and Rey. It was only fair he gave him something in return. And despite only knowing him for a day, Mot seemed to have figured him out pretty well. Poe never could seem to resist an opportunity to save the day. Snap had once gone so far as to accuse him of having a hero complex. But the way he saw it, there was nothing wrong with doing the right thing, even when it was dangerous. 

“Okay,” he said at last. “I’ll do it.”


	9. Into the Storm

Their progress over the next five days was very slow. Losing his arm had taken a lot out of Ren and he could only travel for a couple hours at a time. They ended up spending a lot of time camped out on the riverbank. The one good thing about this was that it gave them more opportunities to search the surrounding forest for food. While their findings were still scanty, it was the most well-fed they’d been in days. 

Finally, six days after the incident in the field, they were able to travel the whole day. It was still painfully slow and Hux was hovering around Ren like an anxious, bad-tempered insect, but despite the various annoyances, Rey was glad to be putting more ground behind them. 

She and Finn walked side by side, leading the way. She had been keeping an extra close eye on Finn since Poe’s death. He had been unusually quiet and subdued, but other than that he seemed to be holding up surprisingly well. Rey knew better though. In those quiet moments as they sat around the fire, when he thought nobody was looking, Rey had seen how sad and tired Finn really was, could feel the grief coming off him in waves. She had even noticed Ren watching him a few times and knew that he could feel it too.

As they trekked onward, the river tumbling along to their left, Rey hooked her arm through Finn’s and looked up at him.

“How are you doing?” she asked.

“I’m okay,” Finn replied.

“Seriously,” said Rey. 

“I’m as fine as a guy can be while stranded on a planet full of killer corpses.”

“You know what I mean.”

Finn just shrugged, staring pointedly ahead.

“I’m talking about Poe,” Rey said.

Finn sighed heavily.

“I know,” he said quietly.

“I know you’re trying to be strong. But I can tell you’re hurting,” said Rey. “You haven’t even had a chance to mourn him properly. Please… it’s not like you to be so closed off. You know you can tell me anything.”

Finn looked down and she saw that his eyes were shining with tears.

“I just… it’s just so hard to believe he’s gone, you know?” he murmured. “Just… one minute he’s there and the next he follows Hux into the forest and doesn’t come back. We never saw the body, just heard the gunshot… and… Rey, I… I’m just scared that one day we’re gonna come across one of those corpses and… and it’ll be _him_.”

“That won’t happen,” Rey insisted, terrified at the mere suggestion of it. “Poe made _sure_ that wouldn’t happen.”

“But what if it didn’t work? I just… I don’t think I could handle that. I’d just lose it, I’d try to get him back or something…”

“Finn, look at me.” He did. “That _won't_ happen. Poe died so it wouldn’t.”

“I know, I know,” said Finn. “It’s stupid… but… I think… I think part of me is just desperate to see him again, one more time. Even if it’s… like that.”

“Oh Finn,” Rey sighed sadly.

She held his arm tighter and rested her head on his shoulder.

 

***

 

The next morning brought the first rainstorm they had seen in the two weeks since they crashed. The trees kept them dry, but they could hear the distant rumble of thunder and every once in a while a few raindrops would slip through the leaves. Though the clouds made it harder to tell the time of day, they were all glad for the lower temperatures they brought. 

The storm was still going strong by mid afternoon when they reached the edge of the forest once again. The field ahead was much different than the two before. It was flat, the grass short and green, peppered here and there with wildflowers and boulders. And it was huge. The trees on the other side were more of a distant dark smudge on the horizon.

“It’ll take the rest of the day to cross this thing,” said Rey.

“At least this time we know there aren’t any corpses hiding in the grass,” Phasma said.

“Every time we leave the forest, something bad happens,” said Finn. “Maybe we should wait until tomorrow…”

“No,” said Ren. “We’re here, we might as well cross it. We’ve still got plenty of daylight left.”

“Are you sure?” Hux said. “You still don’t have all your strength back.”

“I have enough strength.”

And with that, Ren led the way out of the trees.

“For fuck’s sake,” Hux muttered, following him.

Phasma was close behind. Rey and Finn exchanged a look. Rey held out her hand and Finn took it, then they stepped out into the field. Within minutes, all five of them were soaked to the skin and shivering.

It took longer to cross the field than any of them anticipated. The sky got darker and day turned to night, but they still had far to go. Finn was very tempted to say ‘I told you so’, but held his tongue; he figured it was better to wait until they were safely back in the forest before he pissed off Kylo Ren.

Suddenly, Rey grabbed his arm and pulled him to a halt.

“Shh, stop!” she hissed at the others.

They stopped and turned around.

“Why are we stopping?” Hux said. “The longer we’re out here in the dark, the more likely we are to get killed.”

“Shh!” Rey hissed again.

“Rey, what is it?” Finn whispered.

“Did you hear that?” she said.

They all stood in silence, listening for a sound over the heavy pattering of the rain. Finally, Finn heard a low growl. His heart skipped a beat.

“Shit, I heard it.”

“We have to run,” said Phasma.

They turned back toward the forest, but a dozen corpses suddenly blocked their path, their approach masked by the rain. Finn searched around frantically for an escape route, but everywhere he looked, more corpses were materializing out of the darkness. They were surrounded.


	10. To the Rescue

The last week had been one of the strangest, most intense of Poe’s life. Over the six days since he was brought back to life, Mot taught Poe everything he could about swordfighting, the corpses, and how to cast the spell to end the plague. Poe couldn’t deny that he was more than a little overwhelmed by it all, but he felt ready. On the morning of the seventh day, Mot gave him a bag full of everything he’d need – food, bandages, potions, and, carefully wrapped in cloth, the bottle that contained the spell. 

“How will I find my friends once I’m out there?” Poe asked.

“With these,” said Mot. 

He handed Poe a tightly rolled piece of cloth and what appeared to be a small hand mirror. Poe unrolled the cloth. A map had been drawn in purple ink, little dots marking out a path.

“The path leads along a shortcut that will lead you to approximately where your friends should be,” Mot explained.

“What about this?” Poe asked, holding up the mirror.

“I’ve placed on that mirror the same enchantment we used to find your friends that first morning,” said Mot. “That way you’ll be able to easier track them down regardless of any miscalculations I may have made with the map.”

“Thank you, Mot. For everything,” said Poe. 

“You’re welcome, my boy.”

“I won’t let you down. I promise. I’ll finish this.”

Mot smiled at him, a hint of sadness in his eyes.

“I’m sure you will,” he said. “Be careful, and good luck.”

Poe smiled and shook Mot’s hand one last time. Then he went on his way.

 

It was lonely walking through the forest by himself, but Poe was glad to be on the road again after a week cooped up at Mot’s hut. He followed the path Mot had marked out for him, checking the mirror every once in a while. Sometimes he checked it just to stare at Finn. Soon they would be reunited. He could hardly believe it. He would have to figure out what to say to him.

He kept walking along, enjoying the sound of the rain on the leaves as he repeated what he wanted to say to Finn over and over in his head. Eventually he stopped thinking about it, deciding that the words would just get too muddled if he dwelled on them too long. 

After several minutes that were far too quiet, he began to sing softly to himself, an old song his mother used to sing when he was a child. A nearby bird started to sing along with him, flitting from branch to branch so it could follow him. Poe hadn’t seen any birds on this planet except near Mot’s hut. He wondered if it was one of them, sent by Mot to keep an eye on him. 

But the bird left him when night fell. Lonely once again, Poe stopped singing and checked the mirror. It was a hard to see in the darkness, but Poe could make out Finn, drenched to the skin, walking through a field next to Rey. What was he doing out in the open? Especially after dark? 

Poe’s heart plummeted. They had stopped, eyes wide and frightened, and were drawing their weapons. The blue and red glow of Rey and Ren’s lightsabers suddenly lit the scene and Poe’s heart dropped even further as he saw the dozens of corpses surrounding them.

“Shit…”

Poe checked the map and found the most direct route to the field. Then he shoved the map and the mirror into his pocket and took off running. When at last he reached the edge of the forest, he stopped, panting. He could see the flashing of lightsabers and blaster fire, but he couldn’t tell what was going on or if everyone was alright. He drew his sword, forcing himself to feel braver. Then he ran out into the rain. 

Halfway there, he heard a horrible scream of pain and nearly stopped running as fear tore through him. But he had to keep going, he had to get to Finn, to save him. Then the shadowy forms of the corpses appeared out of the darkness just ahead. He raised his sword and swung it through the air with a shout, knocking the creature to the ground. 

He kept fighting, slicing down the monsters with a ferocity he never knew he possessed, all but oblivious to the stares of the others. At last he cut down the final one, then looked frantically around for the source of the scream. And then he found it. Hux was lying on the ground, trembling in pain, one side of his face drenched in blood.

Poe dashed forward and knelt next to him, digging in his bag for the little bottle of medicine Mot had given him. He found it and unscrewed the cap with shaking hands.

“Hey, it’s okay, hold still,” he said.

He leaned in to inspect Hux’s wounds and what he saw made his stomach churn. One of the corpses had clawed Hux’s right eye nearly to shreds. Hux stared up at him with his uninjured eye, looking terrified.

“Are you a ghost?” he said.

“No,” Poe replied. “I’m real. Now, I’m so sorry, but this is gonna sting. Probably a lot.”

He unstoppered the bottle and carefully squeezed out a few drops onto Hux’s injured eye. Hux gritted his teeth, but couldn’t hold back the cry of pain.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Poe said frantically.

He closed the bottle and put it in his bag, then took out the roll of bandages. But there was so still so much blood and he didn’t have anything to clean it off. Inspiration struck and he dug in his pocket, pulling out the cloth map. He’d found his friends, he wouldn’t need it anymore. He gently began to wipe away the blood as best he could.

“I’m completely fucked, aren’t I?” Hux said weakly.

“Not completely fucked,” said Poe, trying to distract Hux from the pain and himself from the urge to vomit. “See, the thing about eyes is… you’ve got two of ‘em. So you’re only about half as fucked as you coulda been.”

He tossed aside the bloody cloth and picked up the bandages, then did his best to make them into an eyepatch. Some blood had already started to seep through by the time he tied off the end, but it would have to do, at least for now.

“Okay,” he said. “We’ve got to get under cover. Do you think you can walk?”

“I’ll help him,” Ren said, stepping forward.

Poe looked up at him and froze. Half of his left arm was gone. He tore his eyes away and got to his feet, shoving the rest of the bandage roll back in his bag and sheathing his sword.

“We’ll both do it,” he said.

Together, he and Ren lifted Hux to his feet and led him into the forest, the other three close behind. Poe forced himself to stay focused on getting under cover. He knew that the second he lay eyes on Finn, all his resolve would melt and he would stop right in the middle of that rain drenched field. 

At last they made it to the cover of the forest and gently lowered Hux to the ground, leaning him against a tree trunk. Ren knelt next to him, but Poe turned away, staring down at his shaking, bloodstained hands.

“Is it really you?”

Poe looked up. Finn was staring at him as though scared to believe his eyes.

“This isn’t some trick? O-or a ghost, or something?”

“It’s not a trick,” said Poe. “It’s really me.”

“But…how?” Finn said, his voice hoarse with the effort to keep it calm. “You were dead.”

“It’s a really long story. It doesn’t matter. Well, it does kinda, but not right now. I’m here. That’s what matters now. I’m here. And I’m alive.”

Finn’s bottom lip trembled, then he burst forward, throwing his arms around Poe’s neck. Poe gripped him tight, burying his face in his shoulder.

“I missed you so much,” Finn said.

“I missed you too,” said Poe. “I wanted to come back sooner, really I did. But I couldn’t. And… oh god, there’s so much I have to tell you…”

“I don’t care about any of that now,” said Finn. “Just shut up and kiss me.”

“I can do that.”

Poe pulled out of the hug just enough to press his lips against Finn’s, kissing him hard enough to make up for every ounce of pain he’d caused Finn in letting him think he was dead. At last they broke apart, both breathless and smiling through their tears. 

“I’m so sorry, Finn,” Poe said. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay,” said Finn, cupping Poe’s face in his hands. “It’s okay. You’re here now.”

“Yeah. I am. I’m here. I’m back.”

Poe laughed breathlessly.

“Okay, lovebirds, my turn,” said Rey.

She stepped forward with a fond smile on her face and Poe turned away from Finn so he could hug her. She gave him a kiss on the cheek as she pulled away.

“I’m so glad you’re alive,” she said.

“I’m glad to be back,” Poe said. “I missed you guys so much. Even them.”

He pointed over his shoulder in the general direction of Ren, Hux, and Phasma. 

“I find that hard to believe,” Hux said.

“You be quiet,” said Poe, turning to him.

Hux huffed.

“You know, you’ve got an awful lot of explaining to do, Dameron,” said Phasma.

“I know,” said Poe. “But it can wait ’til morning.”

They built a fire and Poe took first watch. He sat down next to the fire pit and looked over at where Finn lay, curled up in a ball, still shivering from the rain. Poe leaned down to press a gentle kiss to his temple. As he sat back up, he noticed the corners of Finn’s mouth creeping up into a small smile. A warm, pleasant feeling spread through Poe’s chest and he turned to stare out into the forest.


	11. History Has Its Eyes On You

The rain had finally stopped by the time the sun rose, making the wet leaves above them glitter in its rays. The fire had diminished to embers overnight, so they rebuilt it, then Poe brought out some of the food Mot had given him. The others all stared in disbelief as he handed it around.

“Where did you get this?” Finn said.

“From the guy who brought me back,” said Poe. “He’s also how I found you again.”

“How could he have brought you back?” Ren asked. “It’s impossible to raise the dead.”

“Not quite,” said Poe. “Though as it turns out, I’m the only known success.”

“Who is this man?” said Rey.

“A necromancer named Mot,” said Poe.

He explained how Mot had seen Hux kill him in the meadow and brought him back to life, then told them how the corpses came to be.

“Shit,” Finn said when Poe had finished. “So we were right. Those creatures used to be the people who lived on this planet.”

“Yeah,” said Poe. “Though… it gets a bit more complicated.”

“What do you mean?” Phasma asked.

“There’s two kinds of corpses,” said Poe. “There’s the ones we’ve encountered – the reanimated corpses of all the inhabitants that were already dead when Mot’s spell went wrong. And then there’s the even worse ones.”

“There’s some that are worse?” said Rey.

“Yeah. The ones we’ve dealt with are relatively easy to kill and they’re pretty dumb by comparison. The other ones stay mostly in the village. They’re the people that were still alive when the curse hit. They’re stronger, faster, and smarter. They retained some of the skills they had in life, so a lot of them can actually use weapons. And you’ve gotta kill them twice.”

“Even if you took off their heads?” Ren said.

“Mot didn't specify, but I’ve got a nasty feeling that yeah, they’d still try and kill you with their heads off,” said Poe.

“That’s just splendid,” said Hux. 

“So there is a village, then. We’ve been on the right track,” said Rey.

“Yeah. And according to Mot, there should be a ship there,” said Poe. “But… I can’t just leave the second we find the village.”

“What? Why not?” said Finn.

“Because… I made a promise. To stop all this.”

“How the hell are you supposed to stop this?” said Hux. “There’s thousands of those things.”

“Mot gave me a spell.”

“Oh, like that’s a comfort. His last big spell created this hell hole, remember?”

“Actually, his last big spell brought me back from the dead,” said Poe. “He’s been working on this spell for years, trying to find a way to destroy the corpses and end the plague. And he’s finally finished it. But he’s old and he needs me to cast it for him.”

“Not just you,” said Finn. “I’ll be right there with you.”

“So will I,” said Rey.

“I’m willing to help if that’s what it takes to get off this damn planet,” said Ren. 

“As am I,” Phasma said.

“Well, don’t expect me to leap into fire for your little hero mission,” said Hux. “But since it seems to be the only way to get out of here, I suppose I’ll do what I can.”

“Your support is truly heartwarming, Hux,” said Poe sarcastically.

“So what is the spell? How does it work?” Rey asked.

“It’s all bottled up,” Poe said. “There’s a temple in the center of the village. I have to take it there, to an altar of some sort.”

“And then what?”

“Pray to every god in the galaxy that it works.”

 

They stayed at their encampment the whole day, giving Hux a chance to regain some of his strength. The others filled Poe in on what had happened in his absence, including how Ren had lost his arm. 

“You are one crazy fucker, Ren,” Poe said.

“It was better than dying,” said Ren, shrugging.

“Speaking from experience, I gotta say you’re right. Though I do appreciate you making it a quick death, Hux.”

“Don’t say I never did anything for you,” said Hux.

“It did give me a bitch of a headache when I came back though,” said Poe.

“You want to talk about headaches right now? To me?”

Poe grimaced.

“Sorry.”

“I should probably be thanking you. For patching me up. I can’t imagine I’d have lasted very long if you hadn’t shown up.”

“How ‘bout we call it even?” said Poe. “You killed me quick, I saved your life.”

Hux looked over at him.

“I suppose there’s some sort of poetic irony in that,” he said. “But yes, we’ll call it even. I’d hate to be indebted to a Resistance soldier.”

“And I’d hate to be indebted to a First Order general. Works out perfectly.”

 

Evening began to fall. Poe and Finn sat a little ways apart from the others. Finn had barely taken his eyes off Poe since morning.

“That Mot guy did a pretty good job,” he said, brushing his thumb over Poe’s forehead. “There’s hardly even a scar.”

Poe chuckled.

“Yeah, that one cleaned up fine, but my shoulder’s a different story.”

He pulled aside the neck of his shirt, revealing a nasty scar from where the corpse had bit him. Finn reached out and gently traced it with his fingers.

“Ugly, isn’t it?” Poe said.

“No,” said Finn. “I think it makes you look tough.”

Poe half-smiled and let his shirt fall back over the scar.

“Do you remember anything about it?” Finn asked suddenly. “Death, I mean.”

Poe looked down at his hands.

“Not really. Or at least, I don’t think so,” he said. “I’ve tried to remember. But all I get is a whole lot of nothing. And I don’t know if that’s because I’ve forgotten or because that’s all there was.”

“Probably for the best, really. Not knowing,” said Finn. “I figure if we knew what happened when we died, everyone would either be scrambling for a way to live forever, or killing themselves to get there faster.”

“That’s bleak.”

“Yeah, I guess so. I just… haven’t really had much reason for hope lately.”

Poe looked at him sadly and took his hand.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault,” Finn said. “If you hadn’t died when you did, you’d have never come back.”

“True,” said Poe. “But still, I can’t help feeling a little responsible for you losing hope.”

“It wasn’t just losing you, though that did have a lot to do with it,” said Finn. “It was also… just, all of this. Being stranded here, not knowing if any of us will live to see tomorrow. But now that you’re back… it’s easier to have hope again.”

“I bet it also helps that I’ve got a megaweapon in my satchel that can destroy every monster on this planet,” said Poe.

“Yeah, that helps too,” Finn said. “The point is… I was kinda lost without you. We all were. But especially me. You’re just… so full of hope. Even when things look terrible, you manage to find a way to see the light.”

“Honestly… a lot of that’s just me putting on a brave face,” Poe admitted with a sad half-smile. “Trying to convince everybody, including myself, that it’s gonna be alright. ‘Cause really… I’m fucking terrified, Finn. I don’t know if we’re all gonna make it, if this spell’s gonna work. But I wanna believe it will. I’ve _got_ to believe it. ‘Cause if I don’t… I don’t think I’d be able to do this. I wanna save this planet, really I do, but I’m not some legendary hero. I’m just Poe.”

“You’re not a legend yet,” said Finn. “But you will be.”

 

***

 

They took it slow over the next few days while Hux recovered, traveling only for a few hours before making camp again. Poe knew they had no choice, but he couldn’t help feeling impatient. He’d been sitting around, stuck in one place at Mot’s hut for too long, and now he was ready for action. He wanted to fight, to end this. To go home. But Hux had lost a lot of blood and needed to rest, so Poe kept his mouth shut.

It was honestly strange being back again. He was happy to be with Finn and Rey, and glad that everyone had managed to stay alive while he was gone, but there was something different about them all. The other five had been through a lot together, and it changed things between them. And Poe had been there for none of that. He felt a little bit like an outsider. Even Finn seemed different, and Poe would have to relearn him, relearn all of them, to figure out the kind of people trauma and hardship had turned them into. 

He supposed he hadn’t gone unchanged either. He couldn’t remember death, but just knowing that he had been dead for two days and came back again was enough to harden him. He knew that if he died again, he’d want to stay that way. He couldn’t go through all that again and he definitely couldn’t put Finn through it. 

And then there was his mission. It wasn’t just his companions’ fates in his hands now, but the fate of the entire planet. That was a heavy burden to carry. And he wasn’t sure he had what it took. Finn may believe he could be a hero, but Poe had yet to be convinced. 

So he stayed quiet, hiding his restlessness for action and his ever-growing self doubt for the sake of the others. They didn’t deserve to have their little flicker of hope doused by his fear.


	12. Out of the Woods

At last they were able to travel the whole day again and Poe could barely hide his relief. Even with the burden of his mission looming over him, the prospect of actually making progress put a fresh spring in his step. Everyone seemed in a better mood. 

Around late afternoon, Poe noticed that Hux seemed to be trailing behind a bit, so he held back to walk with him.

“You doing okay?” he asked.

“I’m fine,” said Hux. “A little tired, but no more than expected.”

“Okay. Good.”

They walked in silence for a minute, then Poe turned to Hux again.

“I couldn't help noticing,” he said. “And Finn mentioned it too… but… is there something, y’know… going on… between you and Kylo Ren?”

“I’m sure I don’t know what you mean,” Hux said, staring straight ahead.

“Well he’s been practically doting over you since you got hurt,” said Poe. “And Finn said you were the same when Ren lost his arm.”

Hux didn't respond.

“I’m just saying… you guys seem to care about each other a bit more than I expected.”

“And what exactly _did_ you expect?” Hux said.

“Well, no offense but… I didn’t think you were really capable of caring about anyone,” said Poe. “Or of doing anything nice just… for the sake of it.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Hux said defensively.

“I know what you did for me. Back in the meadow.”

There was a very heavy silence.

“How did you know about that?” Hux said at last.

“Mot told me,” Poe replied. 

“I see.”

“Why did you do it?”

“I don’t know,” said Hux, looking at the ground. “I… I guess…. I thought that, well… an honorable man deserves an honorable death.”

He finally looked at Poe, his expression made even more unreadable by the bandage over his eye. Poe stared back at him. He was at a loss for words, so he said the only thing he could.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Hux said.

And for a fraction of a second, Poe thought he almost smiled.

 

***

 

Evening fell and they made camp once again. Finn was exhausted, but he felt good in spite of it. He had Poe back, they had food, and they would surely reach the village in only a few more days. Then all they’d have to do was survive long enough to cast the necromancer’s spell and leave the planet. And after everything they’d gone through already, that task seemed surprisingly easy.

Everyone was talking quietly as they sat around the fire, but Poe had removed himself from the group and was sitting by himself at the edge of their encampment, just out of reach of the fire’s warmth. Finn knew he’d probably wanted to be alone, but he couldn’t help worrying. He got up and walked over, then sat next to Poe.

“You okay?” he asked.

“I think you’re right, there’s definitely something going on between Hux and Ren,” said Poe. “I asked Hux about it and he completely dodged the question.”

“Fascinating,” said Finn flatly. “What’s wrong?”

“What makes you think something’s wrong?”

“Because you’re sitting by yourself and you won’t look at me or answer my questions.”

Poe sighed heavily and turned to Finn. He looked more exhausted and defeated than Finn had ever seen him, and it was honestly a little frightening.

“Do you really think I can do this?” Poe asked quietly. “Save this planet and get us all home?”

“Of course you can,” said Finn. “I have yet to see you fail.”

Poe chuckled humorlessly.

“Sometimes I forget that you really haven’t known me all that long.”

Finn reached out and took his hand.

“Look, I know this is huge, and terrifying, and a far cry from flying X-Wings like a badass. But I’m sure you can do this. And I’ll be right there with you.”

Poe smiled a little and squeezed Finn’s hand.

“Thanks, buddy,” he said. 

“It’s what I’m here for.”

He lifted Poe’s hand to his lips and pressed a gentle kiss onto his scabbed and bruised knuckles. They sat in silence for a little while before Poe spoke again.

“I’ve just got a… bad feeling about this, y’know?”

“What do you mean?” Finn asked.

“Like something bad’s gonna happen,” said Poe. “Or rather, like something bad’s _supposed_ to happen.”

“You mean… with the spell thing?”

Poe nodded.

“Finn… I don’t know that all of us are supposed to make it out of this.”

An anxious knot twisted in Finn’s stomach.

“No,” he said, struggling to keep his voice quiet and steady. “You’re not dying again. I won’t let that happen.”

“Not necessarily me,” Poe said quickly, though it was obvious that he was just saying that to calm Finn’s nerves. “I mean, it could be any of us. I’m just saying-“

“Well, don’t,” said Finn. “I know it’s dangerous and somebody could get killed. But let’s not talk about it, okay? I already lost you once, I don’t wanna think about that happening again. Let’s just… focus on the fact that we’re all alive now, okay?”

“Okay,” said Poe. “You’re right. I’m just… dwelling on my fear. And it’s not doing me or anybody else much good.”

“You need a distraction,” said Finn.

“Care to give me one?” Poe smirked suggestively, leaning toward him.

“Poe, Rey and the others are literally right there.”

“We could wander off a little bit.”

Finn grinned. He couldn’t deny that he’d been longing for some time alone with Poe. He’d just been expecting to have to wait until they got back to D’Qar.

“You sure?” he said.

“Hell yeah.”

Finn leaned in and kissed him, slowly and seductively, then pulled away, leaving Poe with just enough to tease him.

“Let’s go.”

They got to their feet and slipped silently away from the camp. They went far enough away that they wouldn’t be heard but could still find their way back, then Poe practically launched himself at Finn, crushing their lips together in a desperate kiss. Finn wrapped his arms around Poe’s waist. 

Eventually he ended up on the ground, flat on his back with Poe straddling him. He wasn’t quite sure how they’d gotten there, but he didn’t care. He slid his hands up under Poe’s shirt and dragged him down. Poe kissed his way down Finn’s jawline until his mouth came to rest on Finn’s neck. Finn groaned and dug his fingers into Poe’s back, clinging to him as though they might both float away.

“Take your clothes off,” he gasped.

Poe sat up with a grin.

“Wait, don’t stop,” Finn complained.

“Can’t take off my shirt _and_ kiss you, sweetheart,” said Poe. “No matter how many times we try, that just logistically ain’t gonna work.”

He winked, then stripped off his jacket and shirt. Finn hadn’t seen Poe shirtless since before the mission that had landed them here and the harsh conditions of the last couple weeks had begun to show on his body. He was leaner than before, his muscles and ribs more defined. There were a few fading yellow bruises on his arms and chest, but he was otherwise unscathed. Except for the scar on his shoulder from where the corpse had bit him, which was revealed now in all its gnarly glory. Finn reached out and ran his fingers over the pinkish skin. Then he hooked his arm around Poe and dragged him back down.

Suddenly there was a rustling in the bushes and Rey burst into their hiding spot, looking frantic. Finn and Poe stared at her, both blushing.

“Oh,” said Rey, her expression changing from anxious to embarrassed. “I noticed you guys were gone and I got worried.”

Poe started laughing and buried his face in Finn’s chest.

“I suppose we should have said something before disappearing,” said Finn. 

“Yeah, probably,” said Rey. 

“Sorry.”

“It’s fine. Sorry for interrupting.”

“No problem.”

“I’ll just… leave you to it.”

“Good idea.”

Rey gave him an awkward thumbs-up, which Finn reciprocated, then she disappeared once again into the trees. Finn poked Poe in the side.

“Coast is clear,” he announced.

Poe resurfaced from Finn’s shirt, still giggling.

“I shouldn’t be laughing, she probably thought we’d been kidnapped or something,” he said.

“Yeah, probably,” said Finn. 

“That was probably the most awkward time I’ve ever been walked in on.”

“Even worse than when Chewbacca found us doing it on the Falcon?”

“….. Shit, I forgot about that. Never mind, that was the worst.”

Finn laughed.

“So do you wanna go back to making out, or is the moment ruined?” he asked.

“Oh, I definitely wanna go back to making out,” said Poe. “But only if you take your shirt off too. It’s chilly being the only one half naked.”

Finn grinned.

“Fair enough.”

 

***

 

They hadn’t meant to fall asleep completely naked in the middle of the woods. But they did. Poe woke up the next morning, sprawled out across Finn’s chest, shivering from the breeze tickling his bare skin. Finn was still asleep, so he got up as carefully as he could, then searched the forest floor for his clothes. Once he was dressed, he gathered up Finn’s clothes and sat down next to him, gently stroking his cheek. Finn stirred and his eyes flickered open to gaze up at him sleepily.

“Hey buddy," said Poe. “How’d you sleep?”

“I think there’s a stick stabbing my ass,” said Finn.

Poe grinned. 

“I got your clothes. Even checked ‘em for sticks.”

“Thanks.”

Finn sat up and yawned. 

“Did we really stay out here all night?” he asked.

“Yup. It’s a good thing Rey’s back at camp or I bet those other assholes would’ve left without us.”

“Shit, I didn't think of that,” said Finn. “You said you got my clothes?”

“Right here,” Poe said, holding up the bundle.

Finn took them and got dressed, then held out a hand to help Poe up. Poe took it and Finn pulled him to his feet, tugging his arm to bring them chest to chest.

“Thanks for last night,” said Poe quietly. He looped his arms around Finn’s waist and pressed their foreheads together. “I needed that.”

Finn smiled.

“So did I.”

“I guess we should head back,” said Poe.

He tried not to sound too disappointed, but he knew Finn could hear the weariness in his voice. If he could, he would stay in this little corner of the forest forever, just him and Finn, and never have to face those monsters or the burden of his mission or anything else that this horrid planet had thrown at them ever again. But he knew better. They’d hidden from their fates as long as they could.

“We’re gonna be fine,” said Finn.

He held Poe’s face in his hands and kissed him. Poe sank into it, wishing it could last longer than it did. Then they returned to the riverbank.

 

It had been a cold morning, but by noon, the sun had burned away the chill and made the forest hot and muggy. They trudged along miserably, faces shining with sweat that refused to dry in the damp air. Even Rey was suffering, more used to the dry heats of Jakku. Poe was the least affected by it; the settlement he had grown up in was in the humid jungles of Yavin IV, so he felt right at home.

“The weather on this planet is inhumane,” Hux complained. “How did anyone ever live here?”

“Well they didn’t wear black satin uniforms, for one thing,” said Poe.

He had taken off his leather jacket and draped it over his shoulder. 

“Well, I can’t exactly take it off,” said Hux.

“We’re all thankful for that.”

“I’m sure Ren wouldn’t mind so much,” Finn said under his breath.

Poe stifled a laugh.

“What are you two giggling about?” Rey asked, smirking at them.

“Uhh, nothing,” said Poe quickly.

“Just, uh, how curly Poe’s hair is right now,” said Finn.

“Is it?” Poe said, running a hand through his hair.

“You’re both terrible liars,” said Phasma.

“Unfortunately.”

 

By evening, it had cooled off considerably and a light rain began to fall. They kept walking, determined to use up as much daylight as they could. The sun had set completely and all they had left was the pale light of dusk when they once again reached the forest’s edge. But this time, it wasn’t a grassy field and another distant clump of trees that lay ahead. The river wound out of the forest and fed into a great sparkling lake. And next to the lake was a small, crumbling town. Rows and rows of buildings lined the streets and on the far end of town, towering over everything else, was a temple.

“We did it,” said Rey. “We made it.”

“We’ve still got a ways to go yet,” Ren pointed out.

“Sure, but we found the village,” said Finn. “We’re nearly out of this.”

“Yeah. But the hardest part is up next,” said Poe.

“Well, there’s no use trying to get through there at night,” said Phasma. “We can worry about all that in the morning.”

They set up camp and huddled around the fire. For a while they just ate in silence, enjoying the warmth of the flames and the soft pattering of rain on the leaves overhead. Then Finn suddenly spoke.

“So what happens when this is all done? We just… go back to trying to kill each other?”

“I suppose," said Ren. “I don’t see what other choice we have.”

“Well… you guys could maybe… _not_ be part of the First Order,” Poe suggested. “I know somebody that would be rather happy about that. Well, about you at least, Ren.”

“I’m not switching sides to make you or my mother happy, Dameron,” said Ren, rolling his eyes.

“Oh, I never said _I’d_ be happy about it.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, you’ve always idolized my mother,” said Ren. “Just seeing her happy would make you happy.”

Poe scowled, but he couldn’t deny it.

“I didn't realize the two of you had a history,” said Phasma.

“Unfortunately, yes,” said Ren.

“Seriously, I’m surprised our parents even let us near each other,” said Poe.

“I’ve just had a vision of you two as children trying to push each other out of trees,” said Rey.

“That’s quite accurate,” said Ren.

“That actually did happen once, remember?” Poe said. “Pretty sure we both broke an arm.”

“Oh, yes, I’d nearly forgotten about that,” said Ren. There was an almost nostalgic look in his eyes. “What were we even fighting about?”

“Who knows, honestly?” Poe laughed. “We were always fighting over something stupid.”

“I guess not a lot’s changed, then,” said Finn.

“Not really. The stakes are higher though.”

“Who would have thought we’d ever be on the same side?” said Ren. “Even for just a few weeks?”

“Somewhere, some god is laughing hysterically at us,” said Poe.

“You alright there, Hux?” said Finn. “You’re scowling more than usual.”

“Sorry, I’m just trying to imagine Ren as a child,” said Hux. 

They all burst out laughing.

 

A few hours later, most of the group was asleep and Poe was on watch. The rain had stopped and the forest was uncannily quiet. Suddenly there was a soft rustling in the tree above him. He looked up. A small bird with blue and green plumage was sitting there, watching him. As they stared at each other, the bird began to sing. At first it just seemed like nonsense chirping, but soon Poe began to recognize a tune – it was the same song he had been singing as he left Mot’s hut to find his friends. He stared, wide-eyed, as the bird flitted about, singing the song note for note. Then at last the song ended, and the bird flew away, toward the village and into the night.


	13. Stay Alive

Rey had taken the final watch of the night. She sat on a log near the edge of the forest, watching as the sky lightened and gradually turned scarlet. She couldn’t overlook the ominous symbolism of the bloody light the sun cast over everything as it rose; she glanced back at her sleeping companions, their faces tinged in red, and wondered how many of them would be dead by the end of the day.

The sky had paled from red to pink when Finn woke up. He came over to sit next to her, taking her hand. Rey smiled at him and rested her head on his shoulder.

“How’d you sleep?” she whispered.

“Terribly,” Finn admitted. “Every time I started to doze off, my brain came up with about a hundred new things that could go wrong today.”

Rey looked at him sympathetically.

“Are you worried about Poe?” she asked.

“Yeah. Really, really worried. He would never admit it to anyone else, but… he’s terrified. I’ve never seen him doubt himself this much.”

“I can’t blame him,” said Rey. “The fate of a whole planet’s at stake and no matter how much we try to help, he’s still bearing the brunt of it.”

Finn looked behind them to where Poe was still sleeping, curled up in a ball with his jacket tucked around him like a blanket. Rey gave Finn’s hand a comforting squeeze.

“Hey, it’s okay,” she said. “He’s made it back from impossible odds. He can do this, I’m sure of it.”

“I’m sure of it too,” said Finn. “The trouble is, _he_ isn’t.”

 

It was less than half an hour before everyone was awake and ready to go. They ate in silence, put out the embers of their fire, and checked their weapons. Then they went to the very edge of the forest. This was it. The final moment of peace before they walked into hell.

“Remember, the corpses in there are more dangerous than any of the others we’ve dealt with,” said Poe. “Take care of ‘em as quick as you can, and don’t forget to kill them twice.”

Rey looked over at him. He was staring straight ahead, fiddling with the hilt of his sword. He looked utterly terrified, but was trying so hard not to let it show.

“If anybody gets separated,” he continued. “Just make for the temple. And if something happens to me before I can set off the spell-“

“That’s not gonna happen,” Finn insisted.

“If something happens to me, someone’s gotta cast the spell,” Poe said. “Doesn’t matter who, just make sure it gets done.”

“We will,” said Rey.

They all fell silent again. No one wanted to be the first one to step into the open.

“Well, I suppose there’s nothing for it,” Phasma said at last. “We might as well get this over with.”

She put on her helmet and lifted her blaster, then took the first step out of the woods. One by one, the rest of them followed.

They were all on edge as they approached the village, anxiety peaking ever higher the closer they got. Rey held her lightsaber tightly, ready to ignite it at a moment’s notice. Finally, they reached the village and stepped onto the cracked stone street. It was quiet. Worryingly quiet. They walked slowly, glancing around for any sign of movement.

“Do you think… they’re gone?” Finn said.

As if in response, a laser blast whizzed by and shattered a window in the house behind them. Rey lit up her lightsaber and turned toward the shot’s origin. The corpse of a young man was crouching between two buildings, snarling as it tried to unjam its gun. Hux raised his blaster and shot the corpse twice. It fell to the ground, dead. They stood there frozen for a moment, waiting. At first it seemed like the coast was clear. But then a chorus of inhuman shrieks rang out and dozens of corpses began to swarm into the street, climbing over rooftops, spilling out of buildings and alleys.

“Run!” Rey cried.

They took off, but the corpses were practically surrounding them. Everything was in chaos. The air was filled with the sounds of blaster shots and shouting. Rey sliced her way through the corpses and finally managed to get free of the swarm. She drew Poe’s blaster from her belt and shot several blasts over her shoulder as she ran, determined to get as far from those monsters as possible. At last she stopped, out of breath, and glanced around. None of the others had followed her.

“Shit…” 

She backtracked, searching frantically down the side streets.

“Finn!?” she shouted. “Poe?!”

There was no response. She stopped again and looked around, her heart sinking. In her hurry to get away, she hadn’t paid any attention to where she was going. She was lost and separated from her friends. She hooked the blaster and her lightsaber back in her belt, then climbed up a stack of crates to get onto the roof of the house beside her. It wasn’t a tall building, but she could at least get some idea of the area. The temple rose high above the village and every road seemed to lead there eventually. But there was no sign of the others. She would have to go on alone.

Rey climbed back down and drew the blaster again, then started on her way. She was used to being alone, but the monster-filled streets of this abandoned village were far more frightening than even the most vicious scavengers she’d dealt with on Jakku. Her imagination kept reeling out horrible new ideas of what might happen, from finding her friends bleeding out in an alley to dying alone and never being found. She shook her head as though to chase the thoughts away and took a few deep breaths. None of that was going to happen. She had to stay focused and get to the temple. It was the only way she would make it out of this alive.

 

***

 

Hux and Ren finally stopped running and leaned against the wall of a building as they struggled to catch their breath. They had somehow managed to stick together, but the others were all long gone. Normally Hux wouldn’t have cared much what happened to them, but given the circumstances, he was admittedly concerned. The chances of the two of them fighting their way through hundreds of corpses was slim, despite their combined combat skills, and even though Ren was a decent pilot, Hux had been counting on Dameron’s abilities to fly them out on whatever ancient piece of shit starship they found.

“Are you alright?” Ren asked.

“More or less,” Hux replied. “You?”

“More or less. I suppose we should keep going.”

“I don’t see what good it’ll do without that spell,” said Hux. “But who knows, maybe Dameron managed to survive.”

They took a moment to orient themselves, then continued on in the direction of the temple, sticking as much to the backroads and alleys as possible. It was quiet except for the sound of their footsteps on the pavement. The silence should have been a comfort, as it meant they were safe, but instead it put Hux more on edge than ever. They emerged from an alley onto a two way road lined with tightly packed houses.

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” Hux said quietly.

“So do I,” said Ren.

They turned right and stopped in their tracks. Climbing down from the surrounding buildings were at least a two dozen corpses. They swarmed into the street, blocking the path. Hux grabbed Ren’s arm and they turned back around and ran. They had barely made it a block when the road was blocked by another thirty corpses. Hux looked behind them. The others were closing in, and there was nowhere to escape. This was it. Just the two of them against at least fifty corpses. This was how they’d die.

“The roof,” said Ren suddenly.

“What?”

“We can climb onto that roof.”

“The corpses can climb too, you idiot!”

“Not if we knock down the stuff they’re climbing on.”

With that, Ren grabbed Hux’s arm and dragged him toward the nearest building. There was a stack of crates against the wall, arranged almost like a set of stairs. Ren pushed Hux ahead of him. Hux holstered his blaster and started to climb. As he hoisted himself onto the roof, he glanced back. The corpses had closed in, swarming around Ren and scrambling at the walls of the building.

“Ren!” Hux shouted.

He drew his blaster again, shooting some of the corpses that were grabbing at him. Ren looked up at him and there was a frightened sort of sadness in his eyes that made Hux’s heart skip a beat. 

“Come on, Ren!” he cried. “Get the hell up here!”

Ren tried to climb onto the crates, but the corpses were pulling at his robes, dragging him back down. Hux tried shooting more of them, but there was too much going on and if he was off by just an inch, he would accidentally shoot Ren instead. His heart was hammering now, more afraid than he could ever remember being. Suddenly, there was a flash of light and a loud crackling hum as Ren ignited his lightsaber and smashed it through the stack of crates so none of the corpses could climb up after Hux. And neither could he.

“Ren!” 

The lightsaber shut off as it was knocked from Ren’s hand and Hux watched in horror as he vanished into the swarming mass of corpses. He couldn’t tell if Ren was screaming in pain over the shrieking and snarling of the monsters, but he knew it would take a miracle for anyone to survive that, even Kylo Ren. He got to his feet and ran across the rooftops, putting as much distance between himself and the swarm as possible. When at last the sounds of their cries had faded behind him, he fell to his knees and wept.

 

***

 

Finn crouched just inside the door of a house, cradling his blaster, every fiber of his body tense and ready to fight. Outside, he could hear a few straggling corpses blunder past, growling and snarling. And then there was silence. Finn took a deep breath, then peeked around the doorframe. The coast was clear. He got to his feet and stepped outside. He had managed to get a few blocks away from where they were attacked, but he hadn’t been able to keep track of the others.

“Dammit,” he muttered. “Fucking dammit.”

He had so wanted to be able to stick by Poe’s side, to help him get through his mission. And now he didn’t even know if Poe had gotten out of the ambush alive. He knew it was too dangerous to go back and check, that there would surely be plenty of corpses still at the scene. His only option was to head toward the temple and hope he ran into Poe or any of the others along the way.

Keeping his blaster at the ready, Finn moved on. Every once in a while he would hear the tell-tale snarling of another corpse and duck into a doorway until it had passed him by. Otherwise it was quiet, almost peaceful. Finn tried to keep his anxiety in check, but he couldn’t help thinking about Poe and Rey, wondering if they were okay. He was afraid that he might round a corner to find one of them dead, or worse. He knew it was a perfectly rational fear, but worrying about it wasn’t doing him much good. All it was doing was making him scared to keep going.

Suddenly, he froze. He could hear blaster fire nearby. Lots of it. He tightened his grip on his own blaster, then took off running. The sound was getting closer, accompanied by the corpses’ guttural cries. Finn ran around a corner and skidded to a halt. Phasma was fighting about ten corpses single-handedly. They had her surrounded, and she seemed to be holding her own, but they were too fast and kept moving before she could get two shots into any of them. Finn raised his blaster and shot one of them twice from behind. It fell to the ground, dead. But he’d now drawn their attention to him instead.

Three corpses broke off from the rest and ran at him. He managed to shoot down one of them, but the others were too fast. He stumbled back, trying to get away, but they grabbed his arm and held him with a vice-like grip. Phasma came quickly to the rescue – she shot down one of them, then grabbed the other from behind and pulled it off of him. Its ragged nails tore through the sleeve of his jacket, leaving bloody gashes down his forearm. Phasma threw it to the ground and shot it. 

“Thanks,” Finn panted.

“Don’t mention it,” said Phasma. “How’s your arm?”

Finn inspected it, frowning. His sleeve was in shreds and the claw marks on his arm were bleeding quite a bit, but they didn’t look too deep.

“It’ll be fine,” he said. “Come on, let’s find the temple.”


	14. The Spell

Poe sat against a wall with his eyes closed, breathing heavily. The temple was so close. It towered above him, only a couple blocks away. But he wasn’t sure he would make it. He’d just barely escaped another gang of corpses, and honestly he was lucky to be alive. The front of his shirt was wet with blood from the three long gashes across his chest. The cuts weren’t dangerously deep and the bleeding had slowed, but he had lost a decent amount of blood and it hurt like hell. He knew he should take care of the wounds, but he wouldn’t be able to bandage himself very well and besides, he didn’t have the time. He had to get this over with. It was the only way to make sure at least some of them survived this.

He gingerly got to his feet and started back up the street. He had barely gone a few steps when someone dropped down from the rooftops right in front of him and straightened up. Poe raised his sword in alarm, aiming the point at the newcomer’s throat, then froze.

“Hux,” he said.

He lowered his sword again. Hux stared at him. He looked paler than usual and thoroughly worn out, but he didn’t seem to be hurt.

“Oh good, you’re alive,” said Hux with zero enthusiasm.

“For now,” said Poe. “I was kinda hoping I’d run into Finn, but…”

“Sorry to disappoint you.”

“No no, I’m just glad to have somebody.”

“Right.” Hux’s gaze dropped to Poe’s bloody shirt. “You’re hurt.”

“It’s not too bad,” Poe lied.

“Like hell it isn’t, you’re covered in blood,” said Hux. “What happened?”

“Met some corpses with knives. But I’ll be fine. I just need to get to that temple.”

Poe started walking again. Hux followed close behind. 

“Shouldn’t you do something about that wound?” Hux asked.

“Since when do you care?” said Poe.

“Since it became impossible for me to get off this planet alive without you.”

“Look, if I die, I’ve got you for backup now. You can set off the spell, and then you can get Rey to fly the ship.”

“And what if she’s dead?”

“Then Ren can do it, his father was Han Solo, you bet your ass he can fly.”

Hux was quiet for a moment.

“You’ve lost a lot of blood, are you sure-?” he said.

“It can wait, Hux,” said Poe firmly. “The only help I need from you right now is to get us both to the temple alive. Okay?”

He turned to look at him. Hux seemed to be struggling to hold something back, whether it was another argument or a sarcastic remark, Poe couldn’t tell. Finally, he nodded.

“Good,” said Poe.

They continued on in silence. At last they rounded the corner and found the temple looming ahead of them, a short flight of stairs leading from the street to the large double doors. They stopped walking. Poe reached into his bag and pulled out the spell, then slowly and carefully unwrapped it. It was encased in a little glass bottle that sparkled in the midday light, a dark purple substance swirling inside. 

“The building might be guarded,” he said.

“I’ll cover you,” said Hux.

Poe looked at him.

“Seriously?”

“It wouldn’t do me much good to shoot you in the back now.”

“Good point.” Poe looked back down at the bottle in his hand. “If this goes south, get out as fast as you can. Leave me if you have to.”

“I said I’ll cover you,” said Hux. “If anything goes wrong, I’ll fix it. Like I said, you’re my ride off this rock, Dameron.”

“Okay,” said Poe. “Let’s do this thing.”

He took a deep breath and started down the last stretch of the street, then climbed the stairs. He hesitated a moment before reaching out to open the front doors. They were heavy, made of solid wood, and it took both him and Hux to push them open. 

They stepped inside and looked around. The temple seemed to be empty. It had tall sloping ceilings held up by thick stone columns. The walls were full of empty windows, their edges lined with the jagged edges of shattered glass, all in different colors; the room would have been filled with a rainbow of light on sunny days, back before the place became a ghost town. The room itself was a long, echoing hall. Stone pews stood in rows with an aisle down the center leading to the front of the room. And there at the end stood the altar. 

Poe and Hux walked slowly toward it. Hux was on guard, watching every corner of the room with his blaster at the ready, but Poe’s eyes were fixed on the altar. At last they reached the foot of the dais and stopped. It was a magnificent structure of stone and metal, covered in elaborate carvings. At the center was a round metal basin, etched with runes. Poe knew immediately. This was it. This was where the spell was to be cast.

“You still got my back?” he said.

“Of course,” said Hux.

“Okay. Good. ‘Cause I have no idea what’s gonna happen in about three seconds.”

Poe uncorked the bottle and held it over the basin. He took a deep breath and tried to steady his shaking hand. This was it. The moment of truth. It was time to find out if all Mot’s years of work had been for nothing, if he and Hux were to die in this temple, if any of their friends would escape this planet. 

“Okay,” Poe whispered. “Let’s hope this works.”

Then he tipped the bottle and poured the contents into the basin. For a moment, nothing happened. The spell just swirled there, like it was nothing more than colored water. Then it started to glow. Slowly, the purple light began to pulse, its radius widening with each beat. Then the ground began to shake. Poe stumbled and gripped the edge of the altar. There was a loud crack and he looked up – the earthquake was breaking the temple, sending webs of fractures up the walls and columns. If they stayed inside much longer, they would be buried.

“Dameron, come on!” Hux shouted. “You’ve done your job, now move!”

Poe tried to move but something seemed to be holding him back, physically and mentally. It was like he was in a trance, rooted to the spot by the wave of purple light that had now spread to encompass the dais on which the altar – and Poe – stood. The sensible part of him wanted to run, to get the hell out before he was crushed. But the rest of him had been bewitched by the effects of the spell, and for the moment, that part was winning.

“Dameron, what is wrong with you? Come on!” Hux said, marching up onto the dais.

“I… I can’t,” said Poe.

“What do you mean, you can’t? Have you forgotten how to use your legs?”

“I literally can’t. I can’t move.”

Hux stared at him. There was another loud sound as the cracks in the walls widened and a few chunks of stone crashed to the floor. Suddenly the pulsing light got brighter and a wave of it washed over Poe, striking him in the chest. He felt a strange, nauseating sort of tug at something inside him as the light passed through his body. Then a jolt of pain shot through him and he cried out. His knees buckled but he forced himself to stay upright, holding himself up against the altar.

“What’s happening?” Hux asked anxiously. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know.”

“It’s the spell, isn’t it?” said Hux.

“Yeah.” Poe bit his lip, determined not to sound as scared as he felt. “Go, Hux. Leave me. Just get out of here, save yourself.”

A strange expression flashed across Hux’s face, then vanished. 

“No,” he said firmly. “I said I had your back, that’s not changing now.”

“You can’t just stay here and let yourself get buried alive!” Poe protested, trembling as another shock of pain hit. “Go!”

“I never said I was staying,” said Hux. 

He grabbed Poe by the arm and tried to pull him away. As he did, Poe suddenly realized that it wasn’t his feet that were glued to the spot. It was his hands, still gripping the altar where he had grabbed it when the earthquake began. 

As he watched, another wave of light radiated from the basin. When it reached his hands, some of it seemed to enter through his fingertips. He stared, wide-eyed, as purple tendrils snaked through his veins, burning as they went. When it reached his chest, the burning reached its peak and he forced back another cry as the pain tore through him. 

His head spun, but as the latest wave of agony retreated, he noticed something even stranger. Little rivers of blue light were now streaming from where his hands gripped the altar, flowing into the basin, which was glowing brighter than ever. And the brighter it got, the weaker Poe felt. Suddenly, he realized what was happening. The spell was draining his life force to charge itself.

“Shit.”

“What?” Hux said. “What’s going on?”

Another loud crack echoed through the temple and Poe’s heart skipped a beat. They were running out of time. 

“Look, Hux, I appreciate this,” he said. “But I’m not gonna let you cut off my hands for the sake of this sudden noble streak you’ve got going, so just haul ass, okay?”

“That won’t be necessary,” said Hux. 

“It’s no use, I’m as good as dead. Just get out of here!” Poe insisted. 

His vision was blurring now and he knew it was only a matter of seconds before the spell had drained him dry.

“I’m not letting you sacrifice yourself,” said Hux. “We’re both getting out of here.”

He wrapped his hands around Poe’s wrists. He froze, shuddering, as the purple light crawled through his veins too. But then he set his jaw, tightened his grip, and pulled. They both tumbled backwards off the dais and landed on top of each other on the floor. Poe only got to enjoy a second of relief as his strength flooded back before he was yanked back to his feet and Hux was practically dragging him from the temple, still clinging to Poe’s left wrist. Poe ran a few clumsy feet, then he fell into step with Hux and they were both sprinting desperately for the exit.

The stone floor started to crack beneath them, but they kept running. Finally they reached the doors and nearly fell down the steps in their hurry. They were about halfway down the street when a wave of purple light and energy swept over the village, knocking them down. Behind him, Poe could hear the thunderous crash of the temple crumbling to the ground. And then, everything stopped.

The street was silent and still, a cloud of dust hanging in the air. Poe sat up, coughing, every labored breath he took burning, but he didn’t care. It was over. He turned to Hux, whose black uniform was coated in grey dust.

“It worked,” he said. “We did it.”

“ _You_ did it,” said Hux.

“I would’ve died in there if it weren’t for you, Hux.”

“Yes, you would have,” said Hux. “And we are never to speak of it again.”

Poe grinned.

“Can’t let anyone know you’ve got some good in you, eh?”

“Poe!?” 

He turned at the sound of his name. Rey was running down the street toward them. Poe got to his feet wearily and straightened up just as she barreled into him and threw her arms around his neck. He winced and nearly fell back down.

“You did it!” Rey cried. “You stopped it! I saw it, the corpses just crumbled away.”

She pulled away and looked up at him. She had a long cut on her face that had barely missed her eye and her hair was a mess, but she was smiling from ear to ear. She looked around and slowly her smile faded.

“Where’s Finn? I thought he was with you?” she asked.

“I haven’t seen him since the ambush,” said Poe. “I was hoping he’d be with you.”

“I haven’t seen anyone.”

“Don’t panic just yet,” said Hux suddenly.

They looked where he was pointing and Poe let out a sigh of relief. Finn and Phasma had just turned the corner. The second Finn caught sight of them, he started running and didn’t stop until he’d nearly knocked them both over with a hug. 

“I knew you could do it, Poe, I just knew it!” he said jubilantly.

He grabbed Poe’s face and kissed him hard. As they broke apart, Rey gasped.

“Poe, you’re covered in blood!” she said.

“Oh yeah, nearly forgot about that,” Poe said. 

Now that Finn and Rey weren’t holding him up, he felt rather weak at the knees.

“What happened to you!?” said Finn. 

“Corpses.”

“With knives, apparently,” Hux added.

“Fuck, Poe, why didn’t you do something about this?” said Finn.

“No time,” said Poe.

“That’s the same excuse he gave me,” said Hux.

“I need to sit down.”

Poe sank to the ground, not even bothering to find someplace a little more comfortable. The adrenaline was wearing off and all the pain and dizziness was coming back at once. 

“You’ve still got those bandages in your bag, right?” Rey asked.

Poe nodded and handed her the bag. Rey dug through it and pulled out the roll of bandages.

“There’s a little bottle in there too, it’ll keep it from getting infected,” he said. “You should put some on your face.”

“You first,” said Rey. “You’re the one bleeding out. Take off your shirt.”

“I usually take a bit more romancing, but if you insist…”

Poe shrugged off his jacket, then slowly started to take off his shirt. He gasped in pain as he tried to pull it over his head, and Finn immediately dove in to help. Poe exhaled shakily and leaned against Finn. 

“That really doesn’t look good, Dameron,” said Phasma. “You don’t think those knives were poisoned, do you?”

“They’re dead people, they couldn’t be _that_ smart,” Poe said. 

“They were probably just dirty,” said Rey. “Alright, now brace yourself.”

She unstoppered the bottle and poured a few drops of the potion onto his wounds. Poe yelped and flinched away.

“I’m sorry!” Rey said. “Just a little more.”

Poe squeezed his eyes shut and gritted his teeth, but the potion still stung horribly. 

“You done?” he mumbled.

“Just gotta bandage you up now,” said Finn. 

Poe sighed and opened his eyes, then sat up straight. 

“Don’t use all of ‘em on me, someone else might need some,” he said.

“I’ll try,” said Rey.

“Yeah, um… I should probably get patched up too, now you mention it,” said Finn.

Poe turned to him, wide-eyed.

“What? What happened? Are you okay?”

“It’s just my arm,” Finn said, holding it up.

His sleeve was in shreds. Between the strips of torn fabric, Poe could see matted streaks of dried blood. 

“That looks painful,” he said.

“Not as bad as yours,” said Finn. “It’s okay now, really.”

“Still, you’re next.”

Rey finished bandaging Poe’s chest, then turned to Finn. Once Finn’s arm was fixed up, he took the bottle and put a few drops of the potion on Rey’s cut. 

“Looks like there’s still a bit left if Ren needs it when he shows up,” he said, holding the bottle up to the light.

“We should probably stay here for a while so he can find us,” said Poe.

“Don’t bother,” said Hux.

Poe raised an eyebrow at him.

“Seriously? I mean, I don’t like the guy, but we’ve come this far. I’m not leaving anyone behind now.”

Hux turned away, scowling, but said nothing. Poe frowned. 

“You okay?”

“Of course, why wouldn’t I be?” Hux snapped.

“Hux,” Poe said slowly. “What happened?”

There was a long moment of silence. Finally, Hux turned to face them.

“Ren is dead,” he said, his voice cracking on the last syllable.

Then he turned on his heel and stormed off. No one dared follow him.


	15. The Journey Home

They decided to wait until the next morning to leave. Poe was still feeling weak and dizzy and everyone was just generally exhausted. Not to mention Hux had yet to return. They broke into a nearby house and settled in. There was a dusty old couch in the living room that Finn practically forced Poe to lie down on. There was a fireplace and a little stack of wood, but Hux had stormed off with the lighter, so they would have to wait for him to get back before they could light it. 

Poe lay back on the sofa, his head in Finn’s lap, absentmindedly fidgeting with the empty spell bottle in his hands. He’d done it. Somehow, miraculously, he’d done it. But now that it was done, it felt a bit… underwhelming. After all that work to get here, all he’d done was pour some stuff into a bowl. Sure, it had tried to kill him, but really, all he’d done was stand there. He didn’t feel particularly heroic. Mostly he just felt tired.

About an hour later, the front door opened and Hux stepped inside. His face was determinedly stoic, but it was obvious he’d been crying. He stood on the threshold for a moment, then shut the door behind him.

“Why are you all sitting in the dark?” he said.

“There’s no electricity and you ran off with the lighter,” said Rey.

“It’s not _that_ dark, there’s still a bit of sunlight,” Poe pointed out, gesturing toward the single shattered window. “It’s kinda cold though…”

“It’s not actually that cold,” said Hux. He pulled the lighter from his pocket and knelt next to the hearth. “You’ve just spent the afternoon bleeding out.”

“Whatever, just light the fire,” Poe muttered.

Hux scowled at him, but lit the fire. After a few minutes, there was a steady blaze going. Poe tried to get more comfortable, but his chest still hurt quite a lot and the warmth of the fire only barely reached him. Finn noticed and took off his jacket, draping it over Poe like a blanket.

“Aren’t you gonna get cold?” Poe asked.

“I’ll be fine.”

“Okay… thanks, Finn.”

Finn smiled down at him and stroked his hair. Poe sighed and relaxed a little. This was the first time in nearly three weeks they’d all been completely safe. Well, almost all of them.

“If you don’t mind me asking, Hux… how did it happen? How did he die, I mean?” Poe asked suddenly. “You don’t have to answer…”

Hux didn’t say anything right away. Poe looked over at him. He was staring at his hands, twirling a stray twig of kindling between his fingers.

“We were surrounded,” he said at last, his voice barely above a whisper. “There was this stack of boxes leading to the roof… I went up first. I thought he was right behind me. But I looked back and they were surrounding him… he destroyed the crates so they couldn’t climb up after me and then they… I don’t know what happened to him, if they killed him or turned him into one of them. There were too many of them, I couldn’t see and… I didn’t stay long enough to find out.” He paused and took a few deep breaths, forcing himself to maintain control. “He saved my life. The idiot sacrificed himself so I could get away.”

He snapped the twig he was holding in half and threw it into the fire. Poe stared at him, a strange mixture of emotions running through him. He’d known there was more to Hux and Ren’s relationship than met the eye, but he hadn’t known the true nature of it. Now he realized that Hux genuinely, incredibly, loved Kylo Ren. And it seemed like Hux was only just now realizing it himself. Poe finally recognized the emotion he was feeling – it was pity.

No one said anything for a long time. The sky outside turned pink, then orange, then grey, then black. One by one, they all started falling asleep. Poe rolled gingerly onto his side, trying his best not to wake Finn or start his wounds bleeding again. Hux was still sitting against the wall, gazing into the fire. 

“Hux,” Poe whispered. Hux glanced over at him in response. “I’m sorry.”

 

***

 

Poe woke up the next morning feeling extremely groggy. His entire body ached, but he was warm, still wrapped up in Finn’s arms. Finn was already awake, cramped under Poe in a position that could not have been comfortable, but apparently he’d been too reluctant to wake Poe to move. 

“Hi,” Poe mumbled sleepily, wincing as he sat up.

“Hi,” said Finn. “How’re you feeling?”

Poe shrugged. 

“Could be worse.”

He massaged a knot in his neck and glanced around. Everyone else was already awake.

“You didn’t have to let me sleep so long,” he said.

“Yeah I did,” said Finn. He leaned in and kissed Poe on the cheek. “You’re hurt and you earned it.”

“I barely did anything.”

“Don’t be so modest.”

“I’m not, I really didn’t do much.”

Finn smiled at him fondly.

“You think that makes a difference?” he said. “You could’ve refused to do that spell. We could’ve just found the ship and ran for it. But we didn’t. You wanted to save this planet. So you did.”

Poe glanced over at Hux, then back at Finn.

“Whole lotta good it did,” he said quietly. “If I hadn’t insisted on being a hero, we’d _all_ be leaving here today.”

“Hey, that’s not your fault,” said Finn. 

Poe shrugged again and looked down at his lap.

“It’s _not_ your fault,” Finn said again, more firmly this time.

“I bet Hux doesn’t agree with you,” said Poe.

“Since when do you care what Hux thinks of you? You hate him and everything he stands for.”

“I don’t care what he thinks of me, I just… I feel responsible. My mission cost him what was probably the one truly good thing in his life.”

Finn lifted Poe’s chin, forcing him to look at him.

“Maybe Ren wouldn’t have died if things had gone different,” he said. “But you made your choice. And he made his.”

Poe sighed and nodded. Finn was right, of course. He’d inevitably keep blaming himself for this, but Finn was right. 

 

They ate a small breakfast and put out their fire, then stepped outside, unafraid of what the day held for the first time in weeks. They had no idea where they might find a ship, but the village was safe now so they could wander as much as they needed. Poe walked hand in hand with Finn, who had no idea how much comfort he was giving through just that small point of contact. Poe was exhausted and in more pain than he was letting on, and though it wasn’t much, it helped having Finn right there beside him.

It only took them an hour to find the hangar. There was only one ship there, a light freighter that had certainly seen better days, but that made both Poe and Rey light up with nerdy enthusiasm. 

“Is this what I think it is?” said Rey, bounding up to inspect it.

“You bet your ass,” said Poe. “That’s a YG-5000.”

“Isn’t the YG series rather ancient?” Hux said skeptically.

“I mean, kinda, but this baby’s wicked fast,” said Poe.

He walked around the whole ship, admiring it, checking the mechanics.

“You know, it’s really not in that bad of shape,” said Rey.

“We’re gonna want to check out the sublight engines before we try and get anywhere though,” said Poe.

“Did you say ‘engines’, plural?” said Finn. “How many engines does it need?”

“Well, it’s got three,” said Poe. “It doesn’t necessary _need_ that many, but it’s more fun that way.”

“The Falcon is still better,” said Rey proudly.

“Can’t argue with you there,” said Poe. “Still, if nobody has any objections, I am so adopting this thing.”

“Go right ahead,” said Phasma, rolling her eyes.

“So, Poe, what do you say we get her ready to fly?” said Rey.

“It would be an honor,” said Poe.

“Be careful,” said Finn. “Don’t overwork yourself, you’re still healing.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll do all the heavy lifting,” Rey said.

They set to work. The first several minutes were spent gathering all the tools which were scattered about the landing bay. Once they had found everything they needed, it turned out to be a fairly easy fix-up. The ship was filthy and weathered, but most of the mechanics were still in very good condition. There were bolts and screws that needed tightening and all the internal lights were rather dim, but once they fueled her up, she seemed like she’d fly just fine.

“Alright, everybody, time to say your goodbyes to this piece of shit planet,” Poe announced. 

“Fuck you, planet!” Finn shouted before dissolving into laughter. 

Poe grinned and kissed him on the cheek, then went to put away the toolbox. Then he stopped, frowning. Everyone was making their way to the ship… except Hux. The general stood in the doorway of the landing bay, staring out into the street with his hands in his pockets. Poe glanced over at the others, then walked over to him.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Just… paying my respects,” Hux replied.

“I’m really sorry about what happened to Ren,” Poe said, and he meant it. “Honestly, I… I kind of blame myself. If it weren’t for my mission, he might still be alive.”

“Honestly, I kind of blame you too,” said Hux.

He turned to look at Poe, but surprisingly, he didn’t seem angry. 

“Why did you save me?” Poe asked suddenly. “You could’ve just left me in the temple. The most important part was done, it didn’t matter if I lived or died. And don’t try and tell me it’s ‘cause you needed me to fly you out, ‘cause I ain’t buying it.”

Hux sighed and looked at the ground.

“I guess… I couldn’t handle the consequences. Ren had already died for me that day. I couldn’t have your blood on my hands too. I didn’t want to be indebted to another dead man.”

Poe nodded. He understood.

“Plus,” he said, unable to help himself. “I know how much you’d hate to be indebted to a Resistance soldier.”

Hux almost smiled.

“Yes, that too.” He sighed again and turned away from the door. “Well, I suppose we’d better leave.”

“Yeah…”

Poe looked back out into the street, at the quiet village that had been so full of horrors just hours ago. It was strange. They had been fighting for their lives for weeks. And now it was over. They were going home. He went to turn away and go to the ship, but something caught his eye and he froze. He stared, squinting against the sun. Something was coming. Poe’s heart sped up as fear began to take over. Had the spell somehow missed something? Had some of the corpses escaped destruction?

Whatever it was was getting closer. Poe drew his sword and stood at the ready. They weren’t going to be stopped now, not when they were so close to being free.

“Poe?” Finn said. “What’s wrong?”

“Something’s coming,” said Poe.

Suddenly, Hux’s hand was on his arm, slowly lowering his sword. Poe looked up at him, bewildered. But Hux was staring ahead in disbelief.

“It can’t be…” he murmured.

Poe looked back out at the approaching figure and his jaw dropped. Now that the person was closer, he could see the familiar silhouette. The long black robes, the raven hair blowing gently in the breeze, the left arm cut short just above the elbow. 

“No fucking way.”

By the time Ren reached them, Finn, Rey, and Phasma had joined them at the hangar door. For a moment, they all stood in silence, frozen. Then Hux charged forward and grabbed the front of Ren’s robes, kissing him with all his might. Poe smirked and exchanged a look with Finn.

At last they broke apart, but Hux still clung to Ren’s robes as though he might vanish again if he let go.

“How are you alive?” he said. “You were dead, you…”

“No I wasn’t,” said Ren. “I barely know how I managed it, but I survived.”

Hux smiled, the only true genuine smile Poe had ever seen from him. He looked breathless and giddy and it was so unlike him that it was a little alarming.

“Ren, I…” 

He trailed off, finally letting go of Ren’s robes, glancing awkwardly at the others as though suddenly remembering they were there. 

“I’m glad you’re alright,” he finished anticlimactically.

Ren looked confused, but took it in stride.

“I’m glad you’re alright too,” he said. He paused. “I see you found a ship.”

“Yes,” said Hux. “You came just in time, we were about to leave.”

“Then what are we waiting for? I’ve had quite enough of this planet.”

They all headed toward the ship, the mood considerably lighter now. As they started filing up the ramp, Poe took Rey by the arm and pulled her aside.

“Is something wrong?” she asked.

“No,” said Poe. “Well. Kinda. I was wondering… would you mind flying us out of here? I’ll copilot, I just… I’m still in a lot of pain…”

“Of course,” Rey said. “It’s no trouble.”

“Thanks.”

“Is everything else alright?”

“Yeah. I’m just ready to go home.”

Rey smiled.

“Me too.”

They followed the others onto the ship and made their way to the cockpit, then took their seats at the controls. There were a few passenger seats, so the others joined them. 

“You okay, Poe?” Finn asked, sitting behind him.

“Yeah, I’m just tired so I figured it was safer for me to copilot,” said Poe. 

“Alright. You’ll tell me if anything’s wrong?” said Finn.

“Of course.”

Poe smiled over his shoulder at him, ignoring the guilty knot in his stomach. He hated lying to Finn, but he knew he’d only worry if Poe let on even a little of how worn down he was. He turned back to the controls as Rey started the engines. The ship moaned a little and a few of the lights flickered, but everything seemed to have turned on just fine.

“Here goes nothing,” Rey said.

Poe switched off the brakes and Rey slowly lifted them into the air. Poe held his breath as they crept out of the hangar, willing everything to go smoothly. At last they cleared the bay and he exhaled in relief. Rey grinned, steering the ship out over the lake. Poe looked down at the planet one final time, happier to be leaving it than he had any other place in the galaxy. Then they began their ascent.

“I really hope this thing can survive leaving the atmosphere, or we are quite literally toast,” Poe said.

“Did you even fix this ship at all?” said Ren.

“Yeah, but we didn’t exactly have an overabundance of tools.”

“We’ll be fine,” said Rey, though she looked more than a little nervous.

Just then, they breached the atmosphere and soared out into open space, completely unscathed. 

“And that will teach you to ever doubt my mechanic skills again, Mister Dameron,” said Rey.

“I never doubted you for a second,” said Poe. “I was just preparing for the cruel irony of surviving that damn planet only to be burnt to a crisp on the way out.”

“I thought you were supposed to be the hope-preaching optimist around here,” said Phasma.

“Yeah, well, that was before we crash-landed into the apocalypse.”

“So, where exactly are we taking you three?” Rey asked.

“Well, I don’t recommend taking us to our base,” said Hux. “They’d detain you on sight and I don’t much feel like dealing with that. There is a space port where you could drop us off and we’ll catch another ship back home.”

“That sounds perfect.”

Hux gave them the coordinates and they set a course. 

“The hyperdrive is ready whenever you are,” Poe announced.

“Alright, everybody hang on.”

 

Half an hour later, they came out of light speed and flew down to the space port Hux had told them about. Rey landed the ship and they all stepped out into the bustling hangar. The sudden crowd after so long away from civilization was bizarre and overwhelming and they all just stood there for a moment, staring at these people who had been going about their lives all this time, unaware that the six bedraggled newcomers had just escaped a living nightmare. When the initial trance was broken, Ren turned to them.

“Well, I suppose this is it,” he said. 

“Yeah, I guess so,” said Rey. 

There was an awkward silence.

“Well… thanks for helping keep us alive,” Hux said.

“Yeah, you too,” said Finn.

“Hey, look… um…” Poe began. “If you get back and the First Order has decided they’re better off without you guys… try and find us. I bet we could pull some strings and convince the Resistance to take you in.”

“I doubt that will be necessary,” said Phasma. “But the offer is appreciated.”

She nodded sharply at them in farewell, then turned to leave. Ren gave them a little half-bow, then followed her. Hux hesitated a moment before stepping forward and holding out his hand to Poe. Poe took it and looked up at him, smiling a little as they shook hands. After a moment Hux stepped back, nodded to Finn and Rey, then turned on his heel and followed Ren and Phasma. As they disappeared into the crowd, Finn turned to Poe.

“What was that about?” he asked.

“It’s complicated,” said Poe. “Long story short, he saved my life.”

“Come on,” Rey said, taking both their hands. “Let’s go home.”


	16. A Heavy Heart To Carry

As Ren flew their beat-up rented shuttle into the Finalizer’s hanger, Hux couldn’t help but feel a twinge of anxiety. They had been gone for three weeks and most likely given up for dead. He wasn’t sure how serious Dameron had been, but it was entirely possible their positions within the First Order had been passed along. Of course, Hux couldn’t think of a single officer who could possibly fill his command and run things as smoothly as he did. But still, they needed a general and if they had assumed Hux was dead, they’d have replaced him.

They had had to tell the landing patrol who all was on their ship, so it was no surprise when they stepped off the ramp to find several stunned officers waiting for them. One lieutenant stepped forward and saluted them.

“General Hux. Lord Ren. Captain Phasma,” he said. “Welcome back.”

“Thank you, lieutenant,” said Hux. “I take it everything has remained in order while we were away?”

“Yes sir,” said the lieutenant. “We appointed an, uh… interim general in your absence. But I am sure Leader Snoke will be more than glad to reinstate you.”

“I am sure,” said Hux. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I think the three of us shall see ourselves to the infirmary.”

“Yes sir.”

Hux turned and led the way out of the hangar, Ren and Phasma close behind. He was fuming, but trying hard not to show it. Everyone they passed stared in disbelief, muttering to whoever they were with. Soon the whole ship would know that the three of them had returned.

“Interim general my ass,” Hux muttered bitterly. “They fucking replaced me, is what they did.”

“They thought you were dead, sir, you’d have done the same thing if it were any other officer,” Phasma pointed out.

“Yes, but this is _me_. I’m the _general_.”

“If it makes you feel any better, they probably replaced Phasma as well,” said Ren.

“Well that certainly doesn’t make _me_ feel any better,” said Phasma indignantly.

“It doesn’t make me feel better either,” said Hux. “Phasma is the best captain our troops could have. Everything’s going to be a mess. We’ll be cleaning this up for weeks.”

Just then, they reached the infirmary and stepped inside. The doctors all froze when they came in and a few turned to whisper to each other. Clearly the news had reached them already.

“So it’s true,” one doctor said.

“Yes, doctor, we’re alive,” said Hux. “We’re also all very much in need of medical attention. You can gossip later.”

“Yes sir.”

The doctors immediately scattered, flying into action.

 

The three of them spent the night in the infirmary. Thanks to her armor, Phasma had managed to escape with minimal injuries, but both Hux and Ren were a mess. By the morning, they were already fitting Ren with a prosthetic arm to replace the one he’d lost. Hux’s eye wouldn’t be so lucky. The First Order was decently well off, but the destruction of Starkiller had set them back financially and prosthetic eyes were expensive and hard to come by. Hux didn’t mind too much though. They had already gotten him a proper eyepatch, which he thought made him look rather intimidating. They were released from the infirmary that afternoon, and by evening, Hux and Phasma had both been reinstated to their commands. 

 

Hux’s bedroom felt big and empty now. He had grown so used to sleeping on the ground, surrounded by five other people, being lulled to sleep by the murmuring of the river and the crackling fire. His bed felt too soft, too big, too lonely. And strangely, he was more afraid to sleep now than he ever had been on that planet, afraid of what sort of dreams awaited him. 

After three hours of lying there, drifting in and out of nightmares, he got up and crossed the hall to Ren’s room. He didn’t bother knocking. He knew the passcode to get through the door. It was dark inside, just a faint gleam of starlight coming through the viewport window and illuminating Ren’s face. As the door hissed shut, he stirred and opened his eyes.

“Sorry to wake you,” Hux said.

Ren rubbed his eyes and sat up.

“What’re you doing in here?” he asked.

“I couldn’t sleep,” said Hux. “Not alone.”

“Oh.”

Ren scooted over and folded back the covers, inviting him in. Hux came over and slipped between the sheets, moving in close to Ren, who lay back down and draped his arm over Hux’s chest. There were a few minutes of silence.

“Were you having bad dreams?” Ren asked suddenly.

Hux didn’t answer right away.

“Yes.”

“What about?”

“You want me to tell you about my nightmares?” Hux said.

“It can help,” said Ren.

Hux scowled, then sighed in defeat.

“It was about… when you died,” he said. “Or when I thought you died, I should say.”

Ren propped himself up on his elbow so he could look at him. Hux couldn’t quite make out his expression in the dark.

“My death is a nightmare for you?” he said.

“Yes. It is,” said Hux shortly; he didn’t want to talk about this. “Can we sleep now?”

“Of course.”

Ren lay back down, shifting so their bodies were pressed close and Hux could feel the heat radiating from Ren’s body.

“If you dream about it again,” Ren said. “Just remember, I’m right here.”

Hux didn’t respond. He rolled onto his side so he was facing Ren’s chest and let himself become enveloped in his warmth. Then he closed his eyes.

 

When Hux woke up the next morning, the bed was empty. As he sat up, yawning, Ren came out of the washroom, his hair wet, a towel wrapped around his waist. Hux couldn’t help staring at his left arm, at the place where flesh met metal. This new part of Ren’s body would take some getting used to.

Hux leaned back against the pillows and watched as Ren got dressed. His mind was racing a mile a minute, at conflict with itself. He knew what he wanted to say. The words were there. But he was afraid. The words, this feeling, they were so foreign to him, he wondered if he’d even be able to pronounce them. But he had to say it. They were safer now than they had been just two days ago, but still, he couldn’t risk losing Ren again without telling him. He took a deep breath. Better to say it quickly and get it over with.

“I love you.”

Ren froze, then turned to stare at him, wide eyed and more than a little stunned.

“What?”

“You heard me,” Hux said.

“This is sudden.”

“Yes, well, you should have been there when I realized it.”

“Was I not?”

“No, you were dead,” Hux said flatly. “Or I thought you were.”

“Oh shit,” Ren said, coming to sit on the edge of the bed. “Hux, I’m sorry, I-“

“No, don’t apologize,” said Hux. “I’ve never loved another living creature in my life. Is it any surprise I would’t recognize it until it broke my heart?”

Ren just stared at him silently, a soft, almost pitying look on his face. Hux swallowed anxiously, waiting for the other shoe to drop, bracing himself for Ren to say that he couldn’t possibly love him back. But that didn’t happen. Instead, Ren leaned forward and took Hux’s face in his hands, one warm and the other cold metal, then kissed him more tenderly than any kiss the two of them had ever shared. 

Hux didn’t open his eyes right away when they pulled apart. He let out a slow, shaky breath, his senses swimming, every part of him thrown into overdrive, terrified and at peace all at once. When he opened his eyes, Ren was sitting there with an uncharacteristically gentle smile, their faces just inches apart.

“What are you grinning about?” Hux demanded, unable to help himself.

“You,” Ren said, as though it was the most obvious answer in the galaxy.

“What about me?”

“I love you too, laser brain.”

Hux blinked, unsure whether to respond to the insult or the confession. He settled for neither.

“What?”

Ren chuckled.

“I love you,” he said.

“You…. you do?”

“You really can’t fathom this, can you?” said Ren. “You can’t believe anyone would be able to love you.”

“Well, it’s just… no one ever has,” Hux said. “Admittedly, I never cared if anyone did before.”

“And now?” 

“I’ve never wanted someone’s love so much in my life.”

Ren smiled and leaned in to kiss him again.

“Funny what a little death and destruction will do for a man’s heart.”


	17. Aftermath

Poe felt a tumultuous mixture of emotions as the vast green surface of D’Qar came into view. He was joyful and relieved, but also terrified. More likely than not, everyone in the Resistance thought the three of them were dead. And if he was going to be honest, Poe was really not ready to face the repercussions of all that. But face it he must. His longing to go home far outweighed his fear of causing anyone pain.

As they entered the planet’s atmosphere and started their approach toward the base, Finn reached out and placed a hand on Poe’s shoulder.

“You okay?” he asked. “You seem awful quiet.”

“Yeah,” Poe replied. “Just… preparing myself for coming back from the dead. Again.”

“Oh man, I didn’t even think of that,” said Finn. “Everyone’s gonna freak.”

“Well, I hope you’ve finished preparing yourself,” said Rey.

The base watch tower had just appeared on the horizon.

“This is D’Qar base, please identify yourselves,” a staticky voice said over the comms.

Rey hit the button to reply.

“This is Rey, Finn, and Poe Dameron,” she said. “Requesting permission to land.”

There was a long moment of silence. 

“Permission granted,” the voice said at last.

“That guy’s taking it well,” said Rey.

“Yeah, he’s probably just having a minor heart attack right now,” said Poe.

They flew past the tower and down to the landing bay. Rey parked the ship and shut off the engines, then they left the cockpit and went to the door.

“Here goes nothing,” said Finn.

He pushed the button and the door opened. They walked down the ramp and onto the tarmac. Poe smiled as a pleasantly warm breeze tussled his hair. They were home.

“Poe?!”

Poe jumped and turned toward the sound of his name just as Jessika Pava collided with him. He stumbled back a few steps and collided with the side of the ship, wincing in pain as Jess threw her arms around him in a surprisingly bone-crushing hug for such a small person.

“I heard someone talking, they said the watchman said you were back and on some ancient piece of shit ship, but I didn’t believe it! We thought you were dead, you were gone for weeks, and holy shit, the general’s gonna freak!” Jess gushed, barely taking a moment to breathe. “I can’t believe it! You’re alive!”

She planted a sloppy kiss on his cheek and finally let him go, grinning from ear to ear. Poe was surprised to see that she was crying. He had never seen her cry in all the years they had known each other.

“It’s good to see you too, Jess,” Poe said.

He smiled back at her, hoping the pain in his chest wasn’t turning it into a grimace. Jess wiped her face on her sleeve, then turned to Finn and Rey and dragged them both into a hug. She let them go, still grinning.

“I’m so happy you’re all alive,” she said. “When you didn’t come back from your mission… never mind that, we’ve gotta get you to the general!”

She grabbed Poe’s arm and began to drag him toward the bunker. But as it turned out, General Organa had already come to them. Poe had nearly forgotten how fast word travelled in the Resistance. The general walked toward them, smiling.

“I had a feeling the three of you would find your way back somehow,” she said. “Though you did have me worried for a while there.”

“Sorry about that, General,” said Poe. 

“Don’t be. I’m just glad you’re alive,” said General Organa. “Now let’s get you to the med bay. You all look like hell.”

“Well, we just got back from hell, ma’am, so that’s no surprise,” said Finn.

General Organa raised an eyebrow at him.

“I’ll be expecting a mission briefing once you’re all patched up,” she said. “I think I speak for everyone when I say we’re very curious about what happened to you.”

They followed General Organa inside, drawing quite a few stares along the way. Once they reached the infirmary, the three of them were ushered onto hospital beds and swarmed by doctors. General Organa and Jess hovered nearby. Poe winced as the doctor made him take off his jacket and tattered, bloody shirt. 

“Dear gods, Poe, what happened to you?” Jess exclaimed as the doctor unwrapped his bandages.

“It’s no big deal, I’ve had worse,” said Poe.

“Well no shit, you literally died,” Finn said. “Can’t get much worse than that.”

“Exactly, this is nothing. I could be literally dead right now.”

“You _died_?” Jess said.

“Yup.”

“Then why are you alive?”

“I came back.”  
“How?”

“How did I die, or how did I come back?”

“Oh don’t get smart with me, Dameron…”

“It’s impossible for someone to return from the dead,” General Organa cut in. 

She looked alarmed and more than a little worried.

“Not for an old man named Mot, apparently,” said Rey. 

The general stared at Rey, then back at Poe. 

“What kind of planet did you three land on?” she said.

“The worst kind,” said Poe.

“Honestly, I’m not sure you’ll believe us when we tell you,” said Finn.

“I’ve seen some crazy things,” said the general. “Try me.”

“It was a planet full of… undead…. people,” Finn said. “Reanimated corpses. Mot, the guy who brought Poe back, apparently he accidentally put a curse on the whole planet when he was trying to resurrect his sister. These things, the corpses… they go after any living thing they can find and, um… eat them. Or bite them, to turn them into a corpse too.”

“That’s why I had to die,” Poe interjected. “I got bit.”

“Holy shit,” Jess gasped.

“We figured if we could find the village where all these people came from, we could find a ship and get back home,” said Rey.

“So you fought your way across a planet of monsters?” said General Organa. “It’s truly a miracle that you survived.”

“Well… we weren’t exactly alone,” said Rey.

“What do you mean?”

“We, um… had a bitof a run-in with a First Order shuttle and some TIEs,” said Poe. “That’s how we crash landed on that planet in the first place. We were the only ones of our crew that survived the crash, but… a few of the First Order crew did too. Finn managed to persuade us all to team up and somehow we made it through without killing each other. Well, kinda.”

“Let me guess, one of them was my son,” said General Organa.

“…Yeah,” said Finn.

“I don’t think we would have all made it if we had gone our separate ways after the crash,” said Rey. 

“You weren’t joking, Finn,” said Jess. “You guys really were in hell.”

 

Several hours later, the infirmary was quiet and empty apart from Poe, Finn, and Rey. Night had fallen and they were supposed to be sleeping, recovering from their ordeal, but Poe couldn’t seem to shut his eyes. It was strange being in a bed after weeks of sleeping on the ground, but that wasn’t what was keeping him awake. He rolled over onto his side to where Finn lay on his back, his head turned the other way.

“Finn,” he hissed. “Are you awake?”

Finn turned to look at him, his eyebrows raised.

“I didn’t wake you, did I?” Poe asked.

“No,” said Finn. “I’m surprised you're not asleep. You looked dead on your feet all day.”

“Thanks,” said Poe sarcastically.

“Is something wrong?”

“No. Yes. I don’t know.”

“That was very illuminating, thank you,” said Finn.

“I couldn’t get to sleep.”

“Obviously. What’s going on?”

“I was thinking…”

Finn watched him expectantly. 

“About?”

Poe rolled onto his back again and stared at the ceiling.

“I have to go back,” he said finally.

“Excuse me?” said Finn. “You can’t be serious. Why the everliving _fuck_ would you want to go back there?”

“Mot,” Poe said. “I just… left him there. He’s completely alone on that ruin of a planet, and I just left him.”

“He’s been basically alone there for years, Poe,” said Finn. “I don’t think he expected you to get him out of there.”

“I don’t think he even expected me to _survive_ , Finn. He knew what that spell would do to me, he had to know.”

“What do you mean?” Finn said, sitting up and staring at Poe worriedly. “The spell did something to you?”

“It tried to… use me, to drain the life out of me to charge itself,” Poe explained. “I couldn’t move. I could _feel_ myself dying. If Hux hadn’t dragged my ass out of there, I would be dead.”

“I knew something was off with you, I could tell something was wrong.”

“I was hoping I could just play it off as blood loss from this,” said Poe, gesturing to his bandaged chest.

“Yeah, well, I can see right through you, and you know it,” said Finn. “Plus you’re a terrible liar.”

There was a moment of silence, then Finn spoke up again.

“You should tell a doctor or somebody, we don’t know what kind of damage a spell like that could have done…”

“I’ll be okay, Finn.”

“Is that why you want to go back for Mot?” Finn asked. 

“What, to call him out on nearly getting me killed?” said Poe. “I’m not _that_ bitter…”

“No, not for that. Though _I’d_ certainly like to give him a piece of my mind,” said Finn. 

“Then why?”

“Because there’s something seriously wrong that you’re not telling me and you want to get him to fix it for you.”

Poe looked over at him with a small smile.

“I’m okay, Finn, seriously. Or I will be. I think. I just have to get my strength back.”

“Then… you just want to go back because you think he’s lonely?” Finn said, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah, I guess,” said Poe. “I just feel bad for leaving him. I owe him my life.”

“Which you then nearly lost again because of him.”

“He’s not a bad man, Finn,” Poe said. “He made a mistake and he wanted to fix it. He used me and hid the truth from me to do it, but he’s not bad.”

Finn stared at him incredulously.

“You sure that spell didn’t addle your brain?”

“He knew I’m the type of guy that’s willing to die to do the right thing, that’s all. I was the best man for the job. The only one really.”

“He took advantage of you.”

Poe sighed. 

“I know. But I still owe him my life.”

“You can’t go back there, Poe.”

“I know.”

 

***

 

They were discharged the next day with orders to take it easy. They gave the general a full report on what had happened, then went outside and sat on the hill overlooking the base. After so long struggling and fighting for their lives, it felt strange to be at peace. Sure, there was still the threat of the First Order looming over them, but for the moment all was quiet. 

Poe sighed contentedly as he looked out at the people going about their business below, mechanics working on ships, officers inspecting new weapon shipments, droids rolling from place to place, helping their masters. It was all so _normal_ , and yet it felt so foreign to him after all they’d been through. He leaned against Finn’s shoulder and took his hand.

“Do you think it’ll make any difference?” he asked. “The shit we went through with them, do you think they’ll… I dunno…”

“They may have a lot of power, but they’re not the only authority in the First Order,” Finn said. “Even if it did make a difference, there’s still dozens of other officers, not to mention Snoke.”

“They’d probably only get themselves demoted, or worse, if they tried to spare us or anything,” Rey pointed out.

“Yeah, you’re probably right. They’re all fanatics anyway, I don’t know what I was expecting,” said Poe defeatedly.

“You try to see the best in people,” said Rey. “That’s not a bad thing.”

“I know, but _them_?”

“Yeah, that may have been a little too much to ask for,” said Finn. 

“Still, it would be nice to think that… maybe they’d feel a little regret ordering a hit on us…” Poe said.

“I get it,” said Finn. “We saved their lives, they saved ours. And now we’re all supposed to go back to trying to kill each other. But I don’t think an entire war is gonna end because six people fought monsters together. Nothing’s ever that simple.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for making you all wait so long for the final chapter and thank you all for sticking with me through this crazy fic! i hope you all enjoyed it as much as i enjoyed writing it :)


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